Gunning Down Romance
by Mira Spiegel
Summary: Takes place after the last episode...what if things ended differently? A strange woman from Spike's past steps forward to help him. But she's carrying some dark secerts of her own. COMPLETED! A revision of Chapter Two is up as well as the rest of the stor
1. Session One

Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop, or the characters in it, though I wouldn't mind owning a few of them

Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop, or the characters in it, though I wouldn't mind owning a few of them. I'm not making any money on this, I'm just a poor college student with an over-active imagination. Hope you like it though. This is my first try on a Cowboy Bebop story, so don't be too harsh on me. 

Warning: Contains spoilers. You have been warned. 

Gunning Down Romance

by Mira Spiegel

Session One: Dream When You're Feeling Blue

A strangely familiar melody drifted across his fevered mind. The notes were hummed by a person who had a natural harmony. Despite his sick and wounded state, Spike Spiegal reconized the voice and the song. Both shared the same name. 

Julia. 

Maybe during his final fight with Vicious, he had died. Maybe this was his afterlife. Maybe he finally had found happiness. Or maybe Julia had been right. Her final words haunted his memory and the thought of that cold rain that pelted him as he held her sent a shiver down his spine. 

_It's only a dream._

What if it was? His whole life, all his memories and even now, what if it all was a dream? He wanted to wake up. Find out if it was a dream, and if it was, start living his real life. There was only one way to find out. 

Spike forced his eyes open and waited till his vision focused. He carefully tensed his muscles to see how bad his injuries were. Working from the neck down, he got to his shoulders and stopped. He had been reduced to a busted up mess. He blinked his eyes to clear the haze. At least they worked. The ceiling was white. A fan made lazy circles overhead. It must have been during the day since the light wasn't on. 

A small sound of a chair scraping against a wood floor came from his right. He tried turning his head, but white hot pain shot through his neck. His eyes snapped shut and he gritted his teeth.

"Don't move anything."

That voice. A slightly different timber than Julia's, but his hearing could be off as well. Slowly his eyes opened once more in response to the familiar, gentle hand on his shoulder. The fine featured face of a woman smiled down at him. Long locks of blonde hair hung over her shoulders and around her face. That wonderful smile greeted him. 

"Julia."

The smile faded and was replaced with a look of confusion. The vision seemed to shimmer and change. The hair shortened slightly, the features of the woman shifted into sharper lines. Spike closed his eyes again in defeat.

Julia had been right. 

It was a cruel, horrible dream and nothing more. He wasn't even sure if he would ever wake up from it. The pain didn't seem to be as unbearable now. Ignoring the protests of his neck muscles, Spike turned his head away from the woman and retreated back into the safe protection of slumber, hoping he didn't dream.

She sat back in the chair and picked up her music ledger that she had been working on. Looking back at the sleeping man on the bed, she watched closely, making sure his breathing remained steady. His banaged chest rose and fell with deep breaths that assured her he was sleeping.

Julia.

She had been trying to get a hold of Spike's old love for the past week. Being an information broker, she was surprised to find such drastic changes happening in the Red Dragon Syndicate. From the looks of what was being transmitted, Vicious had killed the elders of the clan and tried taking over himself. Naturally Spike would go to stop Vicious. Once she had discovered that information she had tried to warn Julia. But after many vieled messages, she came to the conclusion that Julia had already went into hiding. 

She had tracked down Spike and followed him to the Red Dragon head quarters. Knowing an all out war was about to take place, she kept to the shadows and waited. When the dust settled, she ventured out to pick up the pieces. She was no longer a Red Dragon, but there were certain people that she would always remain loyal to. Spike and Julia were two of them. The now late leader of the Syndicate, Mao Yenrai was the third. 

Spike had gone out of his way to help her get out of the Dragons. Nursing him back to health after getting wounded by Vicious was the least she could do. She looked down at the phone in her hand. And getting Julia here as soon as possible was the best thing she could do. The look in his eyes when he saw she wasn't Julia only made her want to reach the blond haired woman even more. Pressing the redial button, she prayed Julia was there.

"I'm not here right now, please leave a message."

"Hey Julia, it's Mira. I have a Christmas present for you. Let me know when we can get together. Call me."

A slow smile crept across the ashen skin of the man that leaned casually against the couch in the apartment. Shaggy white hair just scraped the collar of his coat and hid most of his face. Ice cold blue eyes bore through the darkness of the small apartment that had been Julia's. Apparently Mira didn't know of Julia's untimely demise. And if he judged the former Red Dragon's code right, then Mira would be informed very soon. 

Spike would see to it. And if Spike was alive, and Mira heard his side of the story, both former Red Dragons would come after him. She always sided with Spike. Just like Julia did. But he wasn't worried about them. They too were beasts that had lost their fangs. And like all beasts that had served their purpose, they had to put out of thier misery. Survival of fittest and all that. Yes, soon they would pay for years of crime. And Vicious would deliver the judgement. 


	2. Session Two

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, yada yada yada…

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, yada yada yada…

Session Two: Men Are From Mars…

Spike couldn't push consciousness away any more. It was time he finally woke up and faced reality. Or what passed for reality in his life. When he opened his eyes this time, the ceiling didn't greet him; the wall did. He rolled his head so he was looking to the ceiling again. Everything seemed…dimmer. He let his head fall to the other side, so he would finally get to see the room where he was. 

The darkness of night had blackened the windows. And most of the apartment. He wasn't at Julia's. His eyes closed of their own will. Why would he be at Julia's? She wasn't…here anymore. But apparently someone had taken it on themselves to take him in. Why did people always think that saving someone's life was what that person wanted? He would have been perfectly happy to have bled to death on the red carpeted stairs. 

When he opened his eyes again they had adjusted somewhat to the dark. He was able to make out a figure, slumped over in a wooden chair. Just like Julia had done. He couldn't make out details, so he would have to wake the person. He hoped his vocal cords still worked. 

"Hey."

He coughed. Apparently they didn't work as well as he needed them to. But the cough had worked. Who ever it was stirred and went right back to sleep. 

_Sleeps deeper than Jet. _ "Hey."

They sat up in the chair, fully awake that time. The sparse light from a street lamp outside the window made their eyes glint in the dark room. The effect would have been scary to someone who knew what fear was. Spike waited till the flashes of light were in his direction. 

"You'll get a crick in your neck sleeping like that."

"You're sleeping in my bed. Where else am I going to sleep?"

Spike tried to sit up in bed, but the pain in his chest refused to allow him. "Mira?"

The chain to the light on the fan clicked and revealed his savior. The red haired woman stood over his bed with a small smirk on her face. 

"Even after three years you still remember me."

Spike relaxed slightly and laid back down. "You never forgot about me obviously. Are still with your Syndicate?"

It appeared she tried to laugh, but the sound got caught in her throat and stayed there. "No. I decided Syndicates really aren't my thing."

"So what do you do know?"

She sat back down in the creaky old chair. "I take care of hot shots that get big heads and try to take on the world. You're a bounty hunter if I remember correctly."

"Was a bounty hunter is more like it. My partner probably thinks I'm dead."

"He'd have a good reason to. You almost were when I found you."

"How did you find me?"

"Long story. You need rest."

Spike tried to reach out a hand to stop her, but Mira quickly and gently lowered it back to bed for him. 

"Don't move so much. I highly doubt your broken bones are set enough for you move around the way you are. I'm not exactly set up here to put casts on you."

"So where are the broken bones?"

"Where the bandages are."

Spike shifted slightly. It was just as he thought. He was wrapped up like a mummy. "All my bones are broken?"

"Except for maybe your big toe and pinky finger."

Spike snorted and returned his gaze to the ceiling. "Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor."

"There are some things that you can never lose. Especially old friends that need someone to pull them out of the fire."

Spike felt a surge of anger spread through his wounded body. He didn't want to be alive. It was unfair, to him, to Julia, to Mira, to everyone. "Maybe I didn't want to be pulled out the fire this time Mira. You should have just left me alone."

Mira didn't say anything. Spike had expected a smart retort from her, which only would have made him angrier. But when it didn't come, some of his pent up frustration ebbed. The chair creaked again and Mira was on her way to the door. Before she left the room, she paused and looked over her shoulder. 

"I've tried to get in touch with Julia for the past week. As soon as I do, she can take over as your nurse maid."

Spike turned to stop her, but the closing door sounded before his call. 

________________________________

Jet Black hunched his massive frame over the small bonsai tree and carefully clipped away the rogue branches. It was his only past time now. He didn't have to cook large meals for his crew, or do the laundry or clean up after them. His large steady hand quavered slightly before closing the handles on the clippers and taking off another branch of the small tree. He sat back in the chair and gazed thoughtfully down at the plant. 

He missed them. All of them. Even Faye, annoying as she may have been. He missed the excitement they brought, the chatter that went on throughout the now quiet halls of the Bebop. Jet leaned on his mechanical arm, the bonsai forgotten. Spike had left just about a week ago. Faye had left shortly after him. Ed, the genius child hacker, had left before the other two and took their dog, Ein with her. 

At first Jet had been thankful to have his ship back to himself, but then the inevitable sense of loneliness set in. Time seemed to drag between bounties that he went on. Thinking of bounties, Jet turned on his small viewscreen in the bonsai room to catch the new bounty hunter show. 

The producers had cancelled Big Shot and replaced it with some serious news anchor that just read off the list of bounty heads. Jet huffed. At least Punch and Judy had been entertaining to watch. This guy was just boring. 

"Today's biggest bounty consists of a entire crime syndicate."

Jet let out a short laugh. "That better be a whopping bounty. Who in their right mind is going after a whole syndicate?"

"They call themselves the Scarlet Nanashi. They are expert computer hackers that have just stolen the codes to bank accounts. With this information, they will be able to download any amount of money found in banks from Venus to Pluto."

"Smart group. Glad I don't keep my money in a bank."

"The reward for bringing in the leader of the syndicate is 3 million woolong."

"What?!" Jet jumped to his feet. "I can't wait to hear what the whole syndicate brings in."

"If you bring in the entire syndicate, the reward is 8 million woolong. Happy hunting."

Jet turned off the viewscreen and ran a hand over his bald head. 3 million woolong. That had to be the biggest bounty he and Spike ever chased after. He wouldn't have to chase down another bounty head, well, ever. And all he had to do was find the hackers and bring them in. How much trouble could a bunch of computer nerds be?

The transmitter next to his clippers beeped. He picked up it and with a small glimmer of hope answered it. 

"Heeeelllllloooooo!" A feminine voice squealed into his ear. 

"Ed! What do you want?"

"I was wondering if you saw the large, humongous, gigantic bounty heads know as the...du du du dom...Scarlet Nanashi?"

"Yeah, just saw them. Why?"

"I wondered if you wanted Ed's help?"

Jet's annoyance at the slightly crazed teenager was beginning to show. "Why would I need your help Ed?"

"Well, what better way to catch a hacker than with a hacker!"

Jet thought about it for a moment. The kid had a point. "Alright. Where are you?"

"Earth. Where you first found me."

"I'll be there shortly to pick you up." Jet heard a dog yap in the background. "And I'll pick up Ein too."

Jet ended the transmission and headed to the cockpit to change his course to Earth. He carried the transmitter with him, expecting another call. She never was one to pass up an opportunity at bringing in a big bounty and she couldn't bring in a whole syndicate herself. No sooner had Jet settled into the pilot's seat before the transmitter beeped again. Smiling to himself, Jet answered. 

"Hello Faye."

A startled feminine voice responded over the crackling line. "How'd you know it was me?"

_______________________________________

The door creaked on it's hinges and shut with a soft thud. It wasn't enough to wake up Spike from a deep sleep, but it was enough to open his eyes from a light slumber. Turning his head from right to left was becoming easier every time he woke up. Only two hundred times more and he would be able to walk. 

Mira carefully made her way across the sparse bedroom with a tray of food. Spike almost jumped out of bed and attacked the tray, broken bones or not. 

"I see that look in your eye. Just settle down Cowboy." Mira gently chided. 

Spike tried to look innocent. "What look?"

"That ravenous look, like you're going to devour this food after you knock me out."

He tried to crane his neck to see what she had brought. He saw a sandwich, chips, a soda and a tall glass with a very nasty colored liquid. "What kind of sandwich is that?"

"Cool your jets. The sandwich isn't for you. That's my dinner."

"Where's mine?"

Mira held up the glass of nasty colored liquid. "Right here."

Spike wrinkled his nose. "What is it, dare I ask?"

"It is all the vegetables that I had in my house liquefied. Not very pretty to look at, but it'll help you heal faster."

Mira stacked pillows behind him, and helped him into a sitting position. Spike hated being this helpless, but there was nothing he could do about it except take it. He glanced up at Mira as she eased him back against the soft wall that held him up. He hadn't seen her for years, but he knew a look of hurt when he saw one. 

"I'm sorry."

Mira looked down at him with startled blue eyes. "Sorry? For what?"

Spike shifted uncomfortably. "For saying what I said to you, about leaving me alone."

He was amazed to see her smirk without showing any haughtiness in the grin. It was more sad than anything. That only made him feel worse. 

"I'm sure you meant it at the moment. I would react the same way if I was in your position." She shrugged her thin shoulders. "At least you're honest."

"Mira, you haven't gotten in touch with Julia because..."

"I know Spike. I searched for her over the computer. I'm sorry. She was a good friend and a good person. She never deserved to be with the Red Dragons. She was always meant to be something more. Something better. She'll be missed greatly."

Spike gripped the glass in his hand. "She deserved someone better than me."

"No, you were perfect for her. She deserved better circumstances."

Spike raised the glass towards Mira. "Don't we all?" 

With that said, he drank the whole glass with as few gulps as he could manage. Mira grinned as she took the empty glass from him. 

"That was a lot easier than feeding it to you through a straw like I have been."

"Thank you for taking care of me. I'm not the best patient."

"Wow. An apology and a thank you all in one night. I'm impressed Mr. Spiegel."

Spike finally managed his own lopsided grin. "Just don't tell anyone, okay? I don't want this getting out. Then everyone will want one from me."

Mira winked at him. "We'll keep it as our little secret."

She picked up the tray with her food still on it and headed for the door. 

"Mira, stay in here and eat. We have three years to catch up on."

"Not tonight Spike. I'm sure you want to be alone for a little while."

Spike was careful not let his voice get harsh, but kept it quiet and low. "And do what? Grieve for her? I don't have enough tears to cry for her."

"I do."

"Crying isn't going to bring her back, Mira. You know that."

"There's more ways to grieve than by crying. Besides, I'm not grieving for just her."

Once more the door shut softly, ending another conversation that left Spike feeling empty.


	3. Session Three

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Mira

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Mira. I'm getting no money from this, so please don't sue me, you won't get anything any way. This is just for pure fun...so enjoy!

Session Three: Put On A Happy Face

Faye Valentine never had a place that she could truly call home. That is until the Bebop came along. She did know a good thing when she saw one, the crew of the Bebop was a good thing and the closest to family she would ever have. Sure, they were odd and weird, but then again, who said she wasn't? She had her own ways. Besides, it was all free. 

Lounging back against the comfortable yellow sofa in the living room of the ship, she watched Ed sway back and forth in front of her computer screen, mumbling to herself. The red haired child typed keys at random and Faye found that the small clicking noise was all that kept her from being mesmerized by the blinking lights reflected in the girl's goggles. 

Jet stuck his head into the room to check on the two girls.

"Found anything yet Ed?"

"Yes and no."

Faye let her head drop back so she was staring at the ceiling. "I came back to this."

Jet did his usual routine of ignoring her. "What did you find Ed?"

"Ed found out what Nanashi means. It is Japanese for 'No Name'."

"Good name for hackers."

"But Ed has been unable to find them."

Jet and Faye leaned over to stare at the computer screen. A bunch of code and swirling 

smiley faces that were Ed's trademark drifted across the screen. It was a miracle she could find 

anything. Suddenly Ed sat straight up and remained motionless. Faye leaned back in case she 

exploded. Knowing that kid, anything was possible. Jet merely laid a hand on her shoulder.

"What?"

Ed blinked at the screen for a few seconds and her lip twitched. Her amber eyes never 

left the code that stared back at her. She hit a few keys and a group of pixels came together to 

form words. Jet's mouth hung open in shock. 

How are you Radical Edward? It's been a while since I've caught you in my territory.

Faye crowded her way into the group so she too could see what was causing the fear. 

"Who's that?"

Ed let out a low sound of awe. "Nanashi."

"These are the people that we're looking for?"

Jet nodded his head. "Ed, can you get a trace?"

"Working on it. Let Ed talk to them."

Didn't mean to invaded your cyberspace. Will leave soon.

Ed held her breath as the tracer ticked away. She privately hoped that they would continue to talk to her. She would love to get a hold of the world famous hackers. Perhaps they could teach her a trick or two.

What brings you here Radical Edward? Money? 

Why would money have anything to do with it?

You're funny. I like you. So I will apologize.

Ed felt her stomach knot. She hoped that didn't mean what she thought it did.

Why are you apologizing? 

For this…perhaps later in cyber time. Smile.

Ed groaned and fell backwards onto the cold metal floor of the Bebop. Faye and Jet were left staring at a black screen. Jet scratched his head. 

"What happened?"

Ed rolled around on the floor. "Disconnected."

Faye nudged the child with her foot. "Well, did you get a trace?"

"No." Ed wailed. "Just two more seconds and we would have had it."

Jet straightened up and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So they know how long it takes to be traced. And from the sounds of it, they know there's a bounty out for them. Do you think we'll be able to catch them, Ed?"

Ed sat up and started typing without answering. She would type furiously, pause and then resume her clicking music. After a few minutes she just threw her hands up and fell back to the floor, landing on Ein this time. The corgi let out a startled yelp, but remained laying down, acting as a makeshift pillow. 

Jet looked at Faye and she returned the glance. Both asked Ed a question in unison. 

"Can we find them Ed?"

"Sure, as soon as the ship gets fixed. They wiped our computer system."

"What!?" Jet yelled. 

"Navigations are gone, along with the weapons systems, defensive systems, engines, everything. It's going to take Ed days to get all the information back."

Faye went back to the couch. "Great. Stuck here on this piece of junk for days without anything."

"Transmissions are still working." Ed said hopefully.

Jet crossed his arms. "Well, at least we can call for help. That was sure nice of them."

Faye went back to watching Ed program the Bebop's computer systems and Jet went back to the bridge. As he entered the room that gave him the best view of the black void outside the ship, he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. How many times when things had gone wrong had he and Spike stood in this room, smoking and just thinking. Sometimes they would talk about non-essential things, but most the time they remained quiet. For as wild and brash as he was, Jet was hard put to find a better bounty partner. 

Jet took a long drag on his cigarette. He hoped Spike had finally found his peace. 

The transmission view screen beeped, startling Jet out of his thoughts. Leaning over the console, he hit the receive button. The face of a sharp featured woman appeared. Dark auburn hair hung in waves around her shoulders and brilliant blue eyes stared straight at him. Jet couldn't decide if she was pretty or beautiful, she seemed to be caught in the middle, making description futile. 

"Is this the ship Bebop?"

"May I ask who's speaking?"

"You don't know me. My name is Mira Davenport. I'm looking for Jet Black, captain of the Bebop."

She seemed harmless enough. "I'm Jet Black and this is the Bebop. How may I help you?"

"I have a friend of yours here. And just so you know, I'm not calling to have you come pick him up, but just to let you know he's alright."

Jet pushed back the hope that had sprung up. "Who is it?"

"Spike Spiegel. I found him shortly after his, uh, encounter with Vicious. He's still bed ridden, but recovering. He should be up within the week."

Jet smiled. So, the lucky lunkhead had beat the odds once more. "You sure you don't want me to take him off your hands? He can be somewhat of a pill when he's injured."

Mira grinned a sarcastic smirk. "Tell me about it. I wish I could leave his mouth bandaged. But he has to eat."

Jet let out a laugh. "Tell me about it. I barely kept food on this ship when he was here."

Mira laughed with him. "I believe it."

"Do you want me come and slap him around for you?"

Mira shook her head. "Wouldn't help. I tried it. But if you would like to see him, I'll give you my address."

Jet rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor. "Well, that might take a while. We just had a run in with the Scarlet Nanashi. They wiped out all our computer systems. Basic directions might be more helpful."

Mira looked off screen. "Hang on. I might actually be able to help you. I'm an information broker and I might have the equivalent to a start up disk. What kind of ship do you have?"

"Basic old fishing boat. I converted it to space travel. It's a-"

"Got it. I have the basics on a disk. It should be enough to get you guys back online again, but you'll still have to program quite a bit."

"Hey, any little bit helps."

"Alright, I'm sending you the info that you need. You're computer specialist, you do have one don't you?"

"Yeah. She'll be more than happy to get a hold of this."

"Okay. She should know how to download this material."

"Hey, thanks. This is really appreciated. I think I just might have to take Spike off your hands now."

She let out a light hearted laugh that told Jet she was very good at hiding secrets. But yet, she had bailed them out. And she was taking care of Spike. She couldn't be that bad. In fact, Jet was beginning to kind of like her. 

"Here's my address for when you get your navigations up and running. I'm on Mars right now and when you get here, I can probably do the rest of the programming for you. It'll go quicker for your computer specialist."

"Mars, huh? We're not that far from you. I'd say we could be there in ten hours."

Mira smiled and nodded her head. "Glad I already cleaned the apartment. I'll tell Spike to put on his happy face in ten hours."

"You have him put on a happy face, I won't recognize him."

Both shared a laugh again before Mira signed off. Jet called to Ed to see how she was coming with the information Mira had sent them. Ed was excitedly swaying back and forth once more, happily humming to herself. 

"Well Ed, how much programming is left?"

"The information that was sent to us had completely brought up our navigations and climate controls. Due to the specific weapons and defense that you installed to the ship, they will take manual programming."

Faye inspected her fingernails. "How much longer Ed?"

"About eight hours. Maybe ten."

"Good. In ten hours we'll be landing on Mars."

Faye looked over at Jet. "What's on Mars?"

Jet turned back to bridge so he could lay in the course. "Spike's on Mars."

Faye jumped to her feet. "He's alive!" 

Jet turned back around to face her. "Yeah. So what do you care?"

Faye tampered some of her excitement and tried to look cool. "I don't care."

"Heh. I bet." Jet mumbled as he turned to lay in the course the Mars. He for one was glad that Spike was alive. Maybe his wild partner could find peace this time around. 

___________________________

Titan. The small moon that orbited Mars. The small moon that had been soaked in blood. The war had been ruthless. The climate had been barely livable. But she had survived. Thousands didn't. 

Mira found herself running full tilt down a hand dug trench, clinging to her medic bag. Bombs went off all around the long hole, sending rains of dust, dirt and metal down on the occupants. She brushed the cloud away from her face, feeling the dirt smear on her sweaty face. 

The whistle of another bomb flew over head. Someone from behind jumped onto her back and pushed her face down into the dirt. The bomb exploded and she could hear the person on top of her grunt as the debris hit him.

"Move!" A harsh voice spurred her protector to action. He jumped up, dragging her with him. She saw the other person a few feet ahead of them. Shoulder length white hair that had escaped the confines of the hood blew in the hot wind that always accompanied explosions. He waited until she was a few feet from him then turned those empty blue eyes away from her and took off running. 

She looked up at the man pulling her along. Long ebony hair was loosely tied back from his midnight blue eyes. Beneath the grime, his lips were pulled to one side in a smirk. 

"Don't tell me you find this humorous?" she found herself saying.

"No, not at all. I find the army sending an unarmed woman into the trenches humorous. Not to mention stupid."

They continued their run. The man that was ahead of them quickly gained more speed and disappeared behind a wall of dirt. 

"We're almost there."

Mira's muscles were sore from the run, but the adrenaline rush was just enough to keep her going. They were almost there. She could see the opening. Just a few more feet. 

Another bomb went off. This time right in front of them, in the trench. A blinding white light flooded her vision followed by an intense heat…

Mira let out a scream and sat upright…and fell onto the hardwood floor of her apartment. She was drench in sweat and breathing hard. Gasping for breath, she laid a flushed cheek to the cool floor and swallowed. The sound of bed sheets moving caused her to look up. Spike was sitting up in bed, trying his best to get up. Mira jumped to her feet, the nightmare forgotten.

"Lay back down."

"Are you alright?"

Frustrated at herself for waking him up, and now having worried him, Mira gently pushed him back down on the bed. 

"It was a nightmare. Ever had one?"

"Yeah."

"There. Nothing new. Just a bad dream. Now, go back to sleep."

Spike reluctantly laid back down but watched her closely. "Who's Gren?"

Mira looked over him with a cocked eyebrow. "Why?"

"You yelled his name. Who is he?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Probably just a name I heard somewhere. Go back to sleep. I think I'll sleep in the living room tonight. If you need anything-"

"I'll call you."

Mira patted his bandaged shoulder and padded softly towards the door. 

"Mira?"

"Yeah?"

"If you need anything, just call."

She tossed a smile over her shoulder as she opened the door. "I just might."


	4. Session Four

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Mira

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Mira. I'm getting no money from this, so please don't sue me, you won't get anything any way. This is just for pure fun...so enjoy!

Session Four: Women are From Venus...

Spike swung his legs over the side of the bed and mentally prepared himself for standing up. He could hear Mira moving around in the other room. If he was going to get up, he had better do it before she came back into the room again. She would only go through her regular speech about the importance of resting and how he wasn't fit enough yet to get up. Well, he wouldn't be laying in bed, bandaged from head to foot by the time Jet, Faye and Ed got there. When he was with them, the longest amount of time that he had ever been out had been three days. Mira had informed him that he had been there for a week. According to his usual healing record, he should have been up and around three days ago. 

He slowly stood up on shaky legs and immediately locked his knees. After a few seconds of getting reoriented to standing, Spike took a couple of steps. The sound of someone applauding drew his attention to the doorway of the room. Mira leaned against the door frame, clapping her hands and grinning. 

"Where's my camera when I need it?"

Spike leaned on the chair that Mira had occupied for the past week. His muscles were protesting the sudden work out and it left him winded. He plopped down onto the wooden seat and closed his eyes. Never before did he think that walking four steps from a bed would leave him this tired. He must have been worse off than he thought. 

"Here."

He looked up to see Mira holding a glass of water out to him. Gratefully, he took it. 

"What, no liquid vegtables?" 

"No, I ran out of them. Besides, I think you should be alright for solid food."

"Great. What's for dinner then? Steak?"

"Bell peppers and beef."

Spike looked up at the gruff voice that was standing in the doorway. Jet stood there, massive arms crossed and a smirk on his face. Ed was standing in front of Jet and Faye was peeking around the corner. 

"Well," Spike said, "If you're making the bell peppers and beef then there's going to be no beef in them."

"Just as well." Mira spoke up. "I'd stay away from meat for the next couple days. You've been living off a liquid diet for the past week, your stomach isn't used to meat."

Spike threw a sarcasstic look towards Jet. "I'm used to a no meat diet."

Mira moved away from Spike and headed towards the door. "Well, I need to go start on that no meat diet for tonight, so I'll leave you guys to catch up."

Jet moved into the room with the two girls following him. Faye crossed her arms and stared down her nose at Spike.

"Glad to see you're back to your normal obnoxious self."

Spike grinned. "Glad to see you haven't changed your rude attitude."

"She seems pretty nice. How did you know her?" Jet broke in before a fight broke out.

Spike leaned back in the chair. "She was in the Red Dragon Syndicate with me. A few months before I left, she dissapeared. Never knew what happened to her till now."

Jet let out a low whistle. "For someone that's been involved in a syndicate, she sure has a pleasent outlook on life."

"Yeah, she does. She was always a background person in the syndicate. Never talked much, just stuck with information gathering. I guess being out of the syndicate for three years has brought her out of her shell."

"How are you doing?" Jet asked. 

Spike looked up at him, getting ready to deliver a smart answer. But the seriousness in his friend's voice told him Jet wanted to know the truth. "Better than I was. Mira said I was almost dead when she found me. I really thought I was facing death this time." Spike stretched his neck to work out the kinks that were still there. "And I feel like I died. How's that?"

"So, have you learned your lesson?" Faye asked. 

Spike rubbed his chin. "What lesson was that?"

Faye huffed and turned away. "Figures."

Ed grinned widely. "How long before you come back to the Bebop?"

"You're going to have to ask my doctor. Depends on when she lets me go."

Jet stuck his head into the kitchen to see Mira busy at the stove. 

"Do you need any help?"

She turned around, startled by his question and his presence. "Sure. If you want, you can sautee the vegtables."

Jet picked up the frying pan with the raw vegtables in it and started to cook them. Mira was busy mixing some sort of concoction in a bowl.

"What's that?"

"Home-made whipped cream."

"I'm coming here for dinner from now on."

Mira laughed. "What? Spike never cooks?"

"Are you kidding? The man couldn't open a can of soup."

"You really believe that?"

"Uh-oh. I sense some truth about to come out."

"Spike is an excellent cook. He used to cook for the group all the time in the syndicate."

Jet wanted to ask who the group was, but figured it would be too pointed and on the verge of being rude. He would just have to use a round about way of asking.

"So, how do you know Spike?"

"We were in the same syndicate."

"The Red Dragons, huh?"

"Yeah."

Well, that was helpful. Jet looked over at the woman to see the look on her face let him know that the subject was closed. That was fine. They all had secrets that they were allowed to keep. Jet had some of his own so he knew the feeling. But he had to come up with a neutral question to fill the silence that was becoming tense. 

"So, where you from?"

__

"So, where you from?"

Mira looked up from the bandage she was wrapping around the arm of the soldier into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were a cross between violet and blue, giving off the color of twilight. They were mesmorizing. She looked back down at the bandage. 

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Where are you from?"

"Venus. Born and raised till a few years ago."

"Where did you go after that?"

"Mars. Where are you from?"

"Jupiter. Born and raised."

She looked up at him when the bandaging was done. Strands of ebony hair hung down on his fine featured face. He wasn't what she would call handsome, he was…beautiful. Despite the chaos that was going on around them, he appeared very calm. Mira wiped her hands on a towel laying nearby and reguarded her pacient. 

"You know, for a wounded man, you sure do appear really sedate."

"What's to get upset about? There's only a war going on."

"I wish I could be half as peaceful as you."

"You appear fairly calm."

"Not inside, I'm afraid. I feel like someone placed a mine in me and I'm just waiting for it to blow."

He watched her with those eyes and Mira found she couldn't break his gaze.

"You're working too hard. Just take some time and rest."

Mira motioned behind her to the other wounded soldiers. "I can't take time and rest. There's too many to tend to."

He slid off the crate that was acting as a makeshift table and gestured to the box. "If you are not able to calm yourself, how will you be able to calm your pacients?"

Mira looked back at the wounded. "Perhaps in another hour."

"Alright. But promise me something."

She looked back into those eyes. She would have promised anything to him. "What?"

"Do you know the bend in the trenches near the south end of the land?"

"Yes."

"Go there in an hour. It's quiet and well protected. I'll be there waiting for you Mira."

"Wait, I don't even know your name."

He turned to face her once more before he left the temporary infirmary. "Come to the south trench in an hour and I'll tell you."

"Mira?"

Mira blinked her eyes a few times as her mind came back to the present. Jet had gently shook her to get her mind back to what she was doing. His hand laid heavily on her shoulder. 

"Mira, are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I just…my mind wandered." She shook her head to clear her mind of all the bittersweet memories that had flooded her senses. "I'm sorry Jet. What were you saying?"

"I asked where you were from."

"Oh." She picked up the bowl and continued to mix the cream. "I'm from Venus."

Spike watched Faye as she leaned against the door frame and inspected her nails. He guessed she didn't want to face up to their last conversation they had in the hallway of the Bebop. She had been upset about his leaving, ready to do almost anything to keep him from going, including holding him at gun point. But he had left anyway. He could still hear her crying echoing down the hall as he left. 

"What?"

He looked up at her. "What?"

"You're looking at me funny."

"I'm sorry." Spike turned around in the chair so his back was facing her. "Is this better?"

"You're impossible," she huffed. 

Spike laughed. "Glad to see you're so happy to see me."

"So, who's your guardian angel this time?"

Spike pushed himself to his feet. If only he could find where Mira put his clothes. "She's an old friend. Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious."

Spike found a pile of his old clothes, ones he had worn during his dragon days. He'd have to ask her where she got a hold of them, but for now they would have to do. "Just curious, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Sure you're not jealous?"

Faye let out an exaggerated sigh. "You're really full of yourself, aren't you? Where do you get off thinking that you're this great prize to be won?"

Spike pulled his shirt over his bandages. "Why didn't you want me to leave?"

Faye remained silent. A sly grin spread across Spike's face and he turned around to tease her some more, but found she had already left the room. 


	5. Session Five

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Mira

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for Mira. I'm getting no money from this, so please don't sue me, you won't get anything any way. This is just for pure fun...so enjoy!

Session Five: Ready to Run

Mira quietly opened the door to where Spike was sleeping. The Bebop crew had left a few hours ago and went down the street to a motel. Shortly after they left, Spike went back to bed and promptly fell asleep. It had amazed Mira that he lasted as long as he did. He should be ready to leave within a few days. She started to close the door, not exactly sure about her feelings. She wanted him to get better, of course. But she didn't want him to leave. Five years she had been plagued with thoughts, memories and dreams of him. And just like before, he would be in her life for a short time, before quickly leaving again. From her punctated conversations with Jet, he was like that with a lot of people. 

She pulled an old album out from beneath of bunch of books and sat down on the couch. 

The book contained pictures of friends from Venus, the Syndicate and Titan. It was the only thing she had that could link her to her past. As risky as it was to have something like that around, she could never bring herself to destroy the photographs. 

She flipped to her favorite photo, one of her and the twilight eyed soldier, sitting in the trenches together. She had thought she had found true love in him. Then she met Spike Spiegal. But that Titan soldier would always hold the first piece of her heart. 

_She had gone to the southside trenches, the bend that he told her to go. And sure enough, there he was, waiting for her as promised. He was lounging against the dirt wall, smoking leisurely and staring up at the sky. _

"Hello."

Immediately, he was up on his feet, that disarming grin on his face."I see you came. And on time too."

"Never late for an appointment. That could be dangerous for a doctor."

He motioned to the space next to him for her sit down. As she did so, she was amazed at how gracefully he moved. And judging from his movements, he wasn't aware of it. He reached into one of the uniform's shirt pockets and pulled out a cigarette, handing it to her. She took it and allowed him to light it. She leaned back against the dirt wall and blew out a puff of smoke. 

"I hope my pacients don't catch me doing this."

"Doing what? Relaxing?"

"No. Smoking. It's not too good for your practice if you're caught smoking."

He turned his eyes to the sky. "I somehow doubt your pacients here will care."

She allowed herself a short laugh. "I guess you're right. Now, what's your name?"

"Grencia Eckener. Call me Gren for short. I only know your first name."

"Miranda Davenport. Call me Mira for short."

"Miranda, the heroine of the great Shakespearean play The Tempest."

"Not only is he a soldier, he's a literary scholar as well. Are you well versed in Shakespeare?"

"I don't know how well versed, but it's a hobby of mine. What do you do in your spare time?"

"I try to read people."

He turned to look at her. "Read people? What do you mean?"

"I study them. Try to interpurt their body language and come up with what they're like, what they do for jobs, so on."

"Have you studied me?"

She turned her head and gazed into his blue eyes. It wasn't a pompous question. He was curious. "Yes, I have."

A small smile that he couldn't quite contain spread across his face. "And?"

"You want the full assessment?"

He nodded his head, causing more black strands to fall over his forehead. 

"Okay. You are a very peaceful person, meaning nothing can outwardly upset you. And that comes by being at peace with yourself. You know who you are, and like who you are. You're in good standing with your parents, however you have had occasional disputes with them over your hobby. You're not very athletic, but you don't necessarily like to sit around all day. I'd have to say, you're a muscian."

Gren blinked his eyes in surprise. "You're right on everything." His eyes narrowed as a rogueish grin overtook the small, pleased one. "So, what instrument do I play?" 

"Something sassy, I'd say. Probably a trumpet."

Gren went to correct her, but stopped when she started speaking again.

"Actually, when I look at your eyes, I see a sadness that you hide very carefully. The music that you play will reflect that, so a more mornful instrument would be used. You play the saxaphone."

"How could you see the sadness in my eyes?"

Mira took a long draw on her cigarette and stood up. "I have the same look. It's from well kept secrets that aren't meant to be secrets. You can never lose that look."

She turned to leave, but Gren called out to her.

"Will you come back out here tomorrow? Around this time?"

"Will you be here?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll come."

If it was possible to feel safe in a war, she had whenever he was around. But after the war…well, that was an entirely different story. It shouldn't have surprised her however. She was a different person after the war, how could she not have expected him to be as well. 

A small sound outside her window, alerted her. The elevator door down the hall chimed. The unexplainable feeling of danger wrapped it's cloak around her once more. She had expected them to come sooner than this. At least they had waited long enough for Spike to heal. 

She grabbed a bag in the corner of the room and shoved the photo album into it. Reaching into one of her desk drawers, she pulled out an envolpe of money and threw that into the bag as well. Slinging the bag across her chest, she walked into Spike's room and grabbed his shirt. 

"Spike, wake up. We've got company."

Even in the dark, she saw his brown eyes open and he came alert immediately. "Who is it?"

"Don't know. Might be the Dragons. Here." She tossed him the shirt, which he put on as she threw the rest of his clothes in the bag. 

"I know you're not going to like this, but you're going to have use me as a human crutch." 

"Figured as much." He grunted and swung an arm around her shoulders. "Do you have a gun?"

"Here's your Jericho."

"Do you have a gun?"

Mira threw him a lopsided grin. "Of course."

They headed for the fire escape and looked out. Three black sedans were parked along the road. Large men dressed in the taliored suits and three-quarter length coats of the Red Dragons covered most of the street. Spike shifted slightly on Mira's shoulder.

"They're not covering the fire escape."

Mira looked down. "Or else they're really hidden well."

"These guys are used to force, not making sure all exits are covered. Let's go before they figure that out."

Mira slid out the window and steadied Spike as he followed. He didn't need as much help as she thought he would. But he might soon. She hit the pavement without a noise and crouched down in the shadows. Spike followed, moving with more finesse than she would have expected. 

He hunkered down next to her, compacting his six foot frame into a small ball. "You know the area, where to?"

"We can stick to back alleyways. I have a friend not far here." She flashed him a knowing smile. Spike caught it and knew immediately what she had planned. The smile faded when she caught Spike's sober look. 

"Annie's dead too, Mira."

"I'm sorry Spike."

"She was your friend too."

"Then the best thing to do is run. How far can you get?"

"Probably about seven blocks."

"Well, hopefully by seven blocks, we can come up with a plan."

She moved out of her hiding spot and started down the alleyway. She could barely hear Spike behind her, but he was there. Just as they were about to cross into another alleyway, her apartment exploded. The light from the flames gave them away.

"There they are!"

Bullets bit into the sides of the walls were they were. She felt Spike's back hit her's. 

"Cover that end of the alleyway, I'll get this one. We need to get into that other alleyway."

Mira didn't respond, but continued to take down the thugs. A black convertible skidded around the corner and roared into the middle of the firefight. Mira tried the see the driver, but couldn't make him out in the darkness.

"Get in!"

Mira turned to Spike. "It's now or never."

He glanced over his shoulder at the car. "Fine."

The drive rose up out of the car and fired back at the thugs that were aiming at Mira and Spike. The wounded bounty hunter and his caretaker jumped into the back of the car and the driver sped off. Mira did a quick check over of Spike and saw that he was still in decent health. 

"Did you hurt yourself?" she asked him.

"No, still in one piece."

"You're not just telling me that?"

Spike gave her a crooked grin. "Would I lie to you?"

"Huh." Mira moved to get into the passenger seat when Spike grabbed a hold of her arm. 

"You're hurt."

She looked down at her side and found it bleeding. "It's a just a graze. All blood and no injury. Don't worry about it." 

She sunk into the passenger seat so she could thank her guardian angel, and find out who he was. She turned to get a look at him and found she couldn't even breathe. Dark strands of ebony hair whipped around in the wind. Blue eyes were focused on the road and that grin that was always on his face was still there. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. 

"Gren."


	6. Session Six

Disclaimer: You all know what these are suppose to read: don't owe anything (except for Mira), making no money, blah blah blah

Disclaimer: You all know what these are suppose to read: don't owe anything (except for Mira), making no money, blah blah blah. Enjoy!

Session Six: Uninvited

_She had gone back to the south bend of the trenches the next night. She went back the night after that, and the following night. Every night for the rest of the war, Mira and Gren could be found sitting together at that spot. Night after night, she would find secerity and shelter from the war in his arms and gentle words. He was the one shining becon of hope that she had found in the chaos around her. After every dusk she could gaze in to the eyes that blended with the twilight and see that she meant the same thing to him. She was his only link to sanity. _

A few days after their first meeting, she found herself slipping out of the infirmary earlier and earlier every night. They would spend the night in conversation, finding they had many common interests. Music was the main one. 

Mira snuggled closer to Gren, drawing warmth from him to fend off the desert cold that always moved in at night. "So you play the saxaphone and the piano. Not to mention you write some of your own stuff?"

Gren tightened his arms around her. "Yeah. And you play the violin, piano and the guitar. And you write your own music as well."

"But you've played at bars and have had your own band."

"Well, when the war is over, and the band starts up again, why don't you join us? I can guarentee a spot."

When the war is over...they had many of those phrases. Plans made by hopeful hearts 

and unlimited minds. When the war is over...he had said it many times before, but Mira could sense a differnce in the phrase that he used tonight. 

"Join a band or go into the family business. That's a tough choice."

"What's your family's business? I don't think you ever told me."

Mira laughed. "No, I don't think I told you either. It's, uh...business."

Gren looked down at her suspiciously. "Busisness? You had to think about the answer 'business'?"

"Well, it's a special kind of business. The kind you're not suppose to talk about."

"Ah. Got it. So, what do you say about the band?"

Mira thought about it for moment. It had been her choice to go to war as a medic. And she hadn't regretted that one. "Sure. I would love to join your band. But my promised spot, what would that consist of?"

"Well, we always need a guitarist. But I would love it if you would join as my wife."

At first she didn't think she had heard him correctly. Had he asked her what she thought he had? No, it must have been the wind playing tricks on her. But she had to know. Gently pulling herself out of his embrace, she turned to face him. 

"What did you say? I don't think I heard you."

He leaned forward and she saw his twilight eyes seemed to be emitting a light from a inner fire. They reminded her of stars, brilliant, blinking and out of reach. 

"After the war, would you marry me?"

The word escaped her lips before her mind processed it. "Yes."

All those promises, ideals and plans shattered into splinters when they were faced with reality...after the war. 

________________________________

There was just certain things in life that Jet Black hated. Babysitting a sulking Faye was definately in the top five. Trying to ignore her, he went back to making dinner while Faye continued to smoke. He didn't have to wait long before she spoke.

"I don't get why Spike can listen in on their conversation."

Jet supressed a weary sigh. "Because he's still hurt. He can't get into his bunk. And the only couch on the ship is in that room."

"Still, he could be in here with us."

"If Mira and Gren wanted to speak in private they can relocate."

"Well if they don't mind Spike being there, why should they mind me being there?"

"Leave them be!"

Faye blinked startled, wide green eyes over at Jet. He could tell he had startled her with his shout. But enough was enough. "Don't be sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Faye threw herself back against the bulkhead and continued her sulking smoke. "I don't see what the big deal is. It's our ship."

_______________________________

"It's MY ship and I said leave them be!"

Gren and Mira stopped their conversation at Jet's shout. Both looked at each other with upraised eyebrows before turning to look at Spike. He just shrugged his bandaged shoulders.

"Nothing out of the norm."

Mira nodded and turned back to Gren. "So how did you find me?"

The tall, thin man lifted his narrow shoulders. "I didn't just find you. I found you a long time ago and watched you ever since."

"You watched me?"

"Just to make sure you were alright."

"I can take care of myself."

Gren's good natured smile turned softer and took on a sad look. "I know."

Spike watched the interchange like it was a ping pong match. Mira always had been a tough person to read, but he knew when she was uncomfortable with a situation. And she was on pins and needles with this one. Perhaps he could help her out a bit.

"Gren, the last time I saw you, you were traveling to your death en route to Titan. How did you survive your internal injuries?"

Spike noticed Mira get up from her chair and leave the room. Gren and Spike both watched as she headed off to the cabin wing of the old fishing ship. Spike watched the ex-criminal very closely. Gren turned dissapointed eyes from the doorway to the floor. 

"Mira found me. I was unconscious and almost dead."

Spike grinned. "She seems to be good at finding people in that condition."

"Yeah, she does. She nursed me back to health, treated my drug problem and gave me a clean start. But every dream has to end. She left shortly after."

"Why?"

Gren stood up and stretched his muscles. "She's going to have to tell you the rest of the story. The only thing I can say would be biased. She had her reasons. And now as I look back, I see she was right."

"So how did you find us?"

Gren turned before walking through the door towards his quaters. "She's not the only one that keeps tabs on friends."

"Why do you do it?"

"Because I love her."

Spike nodded his head. It wasn't the answer he had wanted to hear, but he had to know. He laid back down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Was that her reason for keeping tabs on him? Spike let out a short laugh. She couldn't possible love him. Julia loved him. And a love like that only comes around once in a lifetime.

_________________________________________

Mira closed the door to her room and crawled onto the bed. She had never expected to see Gren again after that fateful day. It was cold, she still remembered that biting wind as she and Gren walked through the streets of the Jupiter city. A shiver ran down her spine due to the remembrence and she pulled the blanket around her, allowing herself to become lost in the memory.

_There was only one more month till their wedding. Plans were made, things were bought, everything was set. They had decided to eat out that night and walked to a small restuarant that often let the band play there on weekends. They never made it to the restuarant. _

Mira hugged Gren's arm, moving closer to him as the wind picked up. "Did you hear about Josie and Simon?"

"They broke up, didn't they?"

"Yeah, they did."

"Do you know why?"

Mira nodded her head. "He ran off with her best friend."

"Ah."

She remained pensive for a moment, before asking a question that had been preying on her mind. "Gren, in theory, if I failed to meet your needs, would you go elsewhere to have them met?"

He laughed lightly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Are you afraid I'm going to run off with your friend?"

"No, I'm not. But I am curious what your answer is going to be."

"No, I will not run off with somebody else."

Mira stopped and looked him in the eye. "You didn't answer the question. If I failed to meet your needs, would you go someplace else to have them met?"

Gren shifted uneasily on his feet. "In theory, yes."

She walked away then and there, fearing if she waited, she never would leave. She never saw him again, till she found the drifting ship headed for Titan. 

Mira shoved her face in her pillow. She should have left him in that ship. She felt the urge to cry, but couldn't summon up the tears. So she did the next best thing and wept without the tears. 

A soft knock on the door interrupted her dry sobs. 

"Who is it?"

"It's Gren. I think we need to talk."

Untangleing herself from the blankets, she opened her cabin door and stood there. "What about?"

"After you saved me a few months ago, why did you leave?"

"I wanted to see if you had changed."

"I assume that since you left, I hadn't changed."

Mira dropped her head. 

Gren reached out and gently lifted her chin up, so he could stare into her blue eyes. "You need to hear the rest of the story."


	7. Session Seven

Disclaimer: You all know what these are suppose to read: don't owe anything (except for Mira), making no money, blah blah blah

Disclaimer: You all know what these are suppose to read: don't owe anything (except for Mira), making no money, blah blah blah. Enjoy!

Session Seven: A Song Played On A Solo Saxophone

Mira gazed out at the red planet beneath the Bebop as it slowly rotated. She hadn't been on the bridge yet and didn't realize the spectacular view that it gave. No wonder Jet liked to be up here all the time. She couldn't blame him. A steaming cup of coffee was placed in front of her and she looked up to see Gren sit on the sill of the window across from her. She wished Jet was with her now. Or Spike. But Gren had obviously gone through every detail to make sure he could meet with her alone. She could humor him for a little bit.

"I want to hear your side of the story Mira."

The mug stopped at her lips. "My side? Why?"

"I don't think you know what really happened. If you do, I promise I'll leave by morning. If you do not, I'll tell you my side if you're interested."

"Alright, fair deal then." Mira swallowed a gulp of coffee and calmed her nerves. She intended to make this short and sweet. "The first week after the war, you were convicted of espionage during the war. You spent a year in the prison, developed a drug problem and broke out. You took up residence on the frozen rock known as Callisto, where a few months ago you crossed paths with Vicious and Spike. A dog fight ensued and you were wounded. You decided to visit Titan and die there. That's when I found you. I took you in, nursed you back to health and when you had returned to normal, we gave our romance another try." Mira looked up at Gren and fixed her ice blue eyes on his deep blue ones. "But you were unwilling to commit yourself to me. And I needed someone who was willing to stay with me for my life. I intend to marry once in my life. Despite your personal beliefs, I still hold true to making a marriage last. That's my side."

Gren let a sad smile pass across his face. "That's what I thought. You don't know everything. Do you want to know?"

Mira went to answer an affirmative but stopped herself. Whenever she looked at the man before her, all she felt was regret. Regret for the foolish promises she had made in dire situations. She loved him, yes, but only as a friend. But one look into those deep eyes and she could see his love towards her was different. She knew the look very well. She had it when she looked a certain bounty hunter who was oblivious to it. She shook her head to get those mismatched brown eyes out of her mind. She needed to hear Gren's side of the story. For closure, if anything. 

"Alright. What happened then?"

"Do you know who brought up those espionage charges, Mira?"

"No, I don't."

"Vicious."

Mira's eyes widened in surprise. "You're sure?"

"He was the main witness against me. He framed me and had me sent to the prison. You were there on Titan. You were with Vicious and me. You saw how much I admired his strength. Trying to figure out his reasoning tortured me in prison. That's why they gave me the drugs. It was suppose to calm me. It only made me an addict. I had to find out if he had witnessed against me and why. That's why I broke out. I ran into Julia and she confirmed my worst fears about Vicious. I was furious and got involved in the spaceship fight which earned me the internal injuries. I asked Spike if he could get me to Titian, or at least started. I did want to die there."

"Why Titan, Gren?"

"Because that was where I had my best memories. Of having comrades, of knowing Vicious the way I wanted to remember him. And of you. I wanted to go the only place where I had been truly happy."

"What about my question outside the restaurant on Jupiter?"

"Ah, that." Gren took a drink of coffee. "I was young and foolish. I thought the answer I was giving was logically and appropriate. After you left, I had plenty of time to think over what the question and your feelings. All your life you had taken care of other people; making sure they were well, fit and in good spirits. There was no one in your life that made sure you were in the same condition. And that was what you longed for. That protection and stability. Knowing that someone is out there looking for your best interests. Of course, things made sense when it was too late. I couldn't find you anywhere. When I did find you, a few months later, you had set up a fine life for yourself. I felt if I disrupted that, it would only cause you more pain. I figure I had caused you enough."

Mira sat in silence, staring at the cream that swirled in the tan liquid. Sincerity had rung in every word. He had been right. She didn't know the whole story. And now that she did, it all made sense. But she didn't want it to make sense. Here was man before her, that obvious loved her in the most perfect sense she had ever known. And deep down she almost resented him for that, because his name wasn't Spike Spiegel. Mira closed her eyes. She was angry at herself for feeling this way towards Gren. He was a good man. Too good for her. 

"Mira?"

Her eyes snapped open and looked up at him. "Yes?"

"I want to make that life long commitment to you. To take care of you, look out for you. I already love you and will for the rest of my life. You're a very special lady, one in million. But I want you to be my special lady."

"And what about those times that I'm not the special lady that you want? What then?"

Gren smiled his usual cool, relaxed smile as if he had been expecting that question. "Then I'll love you still. I realize now, you can't always be wonderful. I know I can't. There are going to be hard times and needs that go unmet. But leaving is never the answer. Staying together and solving them together is the only way to make it. Would you still be willing to marry me?"

"Gren-"

"You don't have to answer tonight. Think about it."

"No." Mira looked up at him. "This has gone on long enough and I think your question deserves an upfront answer." Mira took a breath and gripped the coffee mug to hide her shaking hands. "Yes, I will still marry you."

__________________________________

Faye flipped through a magazine as she lounged in the living room. She would have preferred the couch, but Spike had claimed it, still unable to crawl into his bunk. She looked over the top of the pages to see Spike reading a book. She turned disinterested eyes back to the page in front of her.

"Did you hear about Gren and Mira?"

Spike sighed, annoyed at the interruption. "No. But you're going to tell me anyway."

"They're engaged."

"What?!"

Faye looked up in surprise at Spike's reaction. He was sitting upright on the couch, looking like a crazed man ready to go out on a rampage. "Easy killer."

"When did that happen?"

"Last night sometime. Why? Jealous?" Faye watched as Spike calmed himself down and laid back to usual position on the couch. 

"Why should I be jealous? She's just a friend."

"Uh huh."

"Where are they?"

"Gren's in his room practicing the saxophone and Mira's on the bridge with Jet." She looked over the magazine again to see Spike back to reading his book. He appeared to be back to his normal self again, but Faye noticed the tightly clenched jaw. That small tensed muscle told her everything. She went back to reading her article unable to ignore the dull ache in her chest. 

_____________________________________

Jet watched the girl that staring out the front view port, trying to figure out why she had sat there for the past two hours without moving. Obviously something wasn't right. This wasn't normal behavior for a woman was just engaged. Jet walked over to her and sat down next to her on the small ledge that Spike usually called his own. 

"Hey."

She turned her head and smiled politely. "Hey."

"Something bothering you?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. Just wondering why you're sitting here, staring at Mars while your fiancé is in his room."

"I just needed some time to think, that's all. Apparently so did he."

"You're doubting your engagement to this man, aren't you?"

Mira looked around the room, making sure no one was around before nodding her head. "I don't know though Jet. I mean, he is a good guy."

"I don't have anything against him."

"He's loved me for so long."

"That's a good sign."

"And he promises to take care of me for the rest of my life."

"I like that promise and I think he'll keep it."

"But…" her answer faded as she searched for the right words. 

Jet smiled and finished the thought for her. "He's not Spike."

Mira's head turned in his direction, her mouth hanging open and eyes wide. "It's not that obvious? Is it?"

Jet laughed. "No, it's not obvious at all. It was just a lucky guess. Why else would you have doubts about your up coming marriage to a guy that's head over heels in love with you? Merely simple deduction."

Mira sighed. "What do you think I should do?"

Jet looked out the window. "What you're doing right now. Thinking. Think long and hard. And when you make your choice, make sure it's the man you can't live without."


	8. Session Eight

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, yada yada yada…

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, yada yada yada…

Session Eight: There's a Light in Your Eyes...

There's a light in your eyes,

And it's too bright to see,

And a pain in my heart, where you used to be.

Was I wrong to assume that you were waiting for me?

There's a light in your eyes,

Did you leave that light burning for me?

Two weeks later…

Mira sat on the bridge of the Bebop with her cup of coffee and watched the stars as they flew past. She had taken Jet's advice and thought long and hard about her engagement. Her feelings for Spike were nothing more than a childhood crush. Or so she had told herself. Julia had been his one true love. And a love like that only came around once in a lifetime. Or did it? Taking a sip of coffee she brushed all that aside. She couldn't allow herself to be thinking about Spike. But she couldn't help it. She hung her head. Perhaps she had made yet another wrong choice. 

The quiet sound of bare feet padding across the metal floor gently disrupted her thoughts. She didn't even have to turn to know who it was. Spike stopped next to her with his own cup of coffee. He had shed all his bandages and all the remained were a few bruises. He was back and up on his feet. He had even brought in a bounty yesterday with Jet and Faye. Mira greeted him without looking at him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Great. How are you feeling?"

Mira looked up at him in surprise. "Fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem to be spending a lot of time in here."

"I just like to think, that's all."

"Nothing wrong with that. But I think Gren is feeling a little left out."

Mira remained silent. 

"So, what's on your mind?" 

"Nothing, just thinking." 

She turned to ask him something and found that he had sat down next to her. Mira moved over, giving him room. He merely smirked. 

"I don't bite."

Mira laughed. "I know. But I'm a soon to be married woman. Can't do anything that looks suspicious."

Spike grew serious. He set down his coffee mug and laced his fingers together. "That's why I came to talk to you."

Mira fixed her eyes on the yellow streams of light that flew past them. She had fought for the past few weeks to keep her mind focused on Gren. She couldn't let Spike raise false hope in her in heart now. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Why are you marring him?" 

"Because I love him. And he loves me."

Spike let out a short laugh. "That's a bunch of garbage and you know it."

Mira turned offended eyes to Spike. "He does love me."

"I wasn't contridicting that statement. You don't love him."

She turned away. "How do you know that?"

"I was in love once, I know the look. You don't have it."

"What look is that?"

"It's a wistful gleam in the eye when a hopeful thought passes through the mind. And when you look at Gren, all I see in your eyes is doubt."

"It's a big decision of my life. Of course I'm going to have some doubt."

"Some doubt, yes. But that's all you show is doubt."

Mira turned away and returned to her gaze out the window. He had seen what she was really going through and she wondered if he saw her feelings towards him as well. If he had, then now was the time for him to carry her off into the sunset. 

"Mira, when we were in the Syndicate together, I never noticed you much. You always seemed like you didn't want to be noticed. In those five years that I knew you, I think I heard you say all of ten words. And since you came with Vicious, everyone knew to stay away."

Mira saw, out of the corner of her eye, Spike's head turn towards her. Gritting her teeth, she kept facing forward. Spike conintued.

"You had that look in your eyes while you were in the Syndicate. Who was it? Was it Gren? Or was it someone else?"

So he hadn't noticed her feelings for him. It was probably for the better. "It was Gren."

Silence became tangible and hung between the two ex-syndicate members like humidity hangs in trees. Mira swallowed the rest of coffee, now cold, and took a deep breath. 

"Where is Gren?"

"He's watching the telescreen."

Mira left before Spike could say anything else to her. She brushed past Jet just as he was about to enter the bridge, but she merely nodded and moved on. True to what Spike had said, Gren was channel surfing in the living space of the Bebop. He saw her come into the room and stood up. 

"What's wrong?"

She moved over to him. "Nothing. Why?"

"You look like something has you flustered."

Mira smiled and banished all looks of her mental state away, allowing the usual sedate appearance to fall into place. 

"No, I'm fine. Just," she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Hold me."

__________________________________

Jet stepped up the same spot he had a few weeks ago when he and Spike had their last serious talk on the bridge. Spike still sat, pensive and withdrawn as he had before. Jet looked down at the younger man for a moment. 

"Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

"About Mira."

Spike hung his head. "Not now Jet."

"I think now is the best time. Ed just intercepted a message from the Red Dragons. It's encoded and she's trying to figure it out. I have a feeling things are going to start getting out of hand again. And there a few matters at hand that need to be dealt with."

"Like what?"

"Like Mira. She's backed herself into a corner with Gren. She doesn't want to marry him."

"Now there's surprise. I knew that already. She talked to you?"

"Yeah, she did. She doesn't love him because she loves another person. What do you think she should do?"

"I think she should break off the enguagement and tell the one she loves her feelings."

Jet watched as Spike pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He took a deep breath and calmly blew out a long stream of smoke into the cabin. 

"It's you."

Spike stood up, slowly unfurling his lanky height. "I know."

Jet watched as Spike picked up one of the transmitters laying down and opened the channel. 

"Mira, we have an encoded message from the Dragons. Meet me in the bridge." He turned to Jet. "Would you leave us alone for a few minutes. And take Gren and Faye with you?"

Jet let out a low chuckle. "Sure thing."

Just as Jet was leaving, Mira re-entered the bridge. Spike called up the message and stared at it. Mira peered over his shoulder.

"It's an old code."

Spike nodded his head. "I can't place it though."

"Vicious sent it."

"How do you know?"

"It says: 'It is time for the rogue dragons to come home. To take power, or to have power taken, the choice is up to them.' And it's written in a code that I created for Mao Yenrai. It was a code that was only to be used between you, Mao and...someone else. The trio was to be the leaders of the Syndicate. That way, Mao could retire but by using the code, he could still keep up with the events."

"Who was the third person?"

  
Mira rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. Spike knew that to be her nervous gesture. She was hiding something. 

"Mira, I'm through with the secrets and the vague answers. Tell me now."

She dropped the hand and stared at him with open shock. "Spike-"

"Tell me."

She paced around the bridge for a few minutes, searching for words or for the courage to speak them, Spike didn't know. But he did know that his answer was coming soon and to pressure her now would only make her clam up even more. Finally she stopped and lowered her eyes to the floor. 

"Mao wanted you and me to take over the leadership of the Syndicate. He wanted you to lead the people. He wanted me to take care of the business side. He thought we would work well together."

"He didn't want Vicious on this at all?"

"No. He wanted Vicious dead. He just hadn't found the proper set up." She let out a short laugh, that surprised Spike with it's bitterness. "I warned Mao. I told him that if he didn't deal with Vicious, Vicious was going to deal with him. I warned Mao so often, I believe he grew sick of it. I even told your sister, Annie, to see if she could talk some sense into Mao, but she couldn't. None of us could."

"Why didn't he listen to you?"

When Mira looked back up at him, he almost didn't reconize her. Her eyes had clouded over with an emotion that was a cross between bitterness and rage. The shadows in the cabin played with her angled face, making her facial lines appear sharper than normal. 

"Mao was waiting for you to come back. He never believed you were dead. And he believed that you would never let Vicious take over the Syndicate. And I soon began to believe that too. However that dream ended when I learned of Mao's assassination. I didn't have to guess who the murderer was."

Spike gazed down at the coded message that Mira had just read. The pain of losing a mentor had his chest hurt with a dull ache. Mao had been a father to him. And he failed him. Spike looked up to see Mira staring at the ground, all signs of emotion had been washed from her face again. 

"Are you crying?"

She looked up at him with dispassionate eyes. "I haven't cried for over ten years. Why start now?"

He may have failed Mao, Annie, and Julia, but he wouldn't fail this woman before him. He couldn't let anyone else suffer because of him. "I understand what you said."

"When?"

"Back in the Syndicate. Those ten little words. 'I know what it is with men and forbidden fruit.' That was all you said before you left."

"What do they mean Spike?"

"I know why you left the Syndicate too. The one that gave you that light in your eyes, the one that you loved, it was me. You saw me with Julia and left, knowing that, at the time, you would be the forbidden fruit. And men are always attract to the forbidden fruit. So you left."

Mira's emotionless mask remained intact as she listened to his explanation. "If you're expecting a gold medal for your deduction, don't hold your breath."

"Am I right?"

"I'm tired. I have to go. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Mira went to walk to past him but reached out and grabbed her arm as she passed. "Am I right? Was it me, Mira?"

She let out a defeated sigh. "It was you."

"Don't marry him."

She emitted another bitter laugh and Spike felt as if someone had scraped their finger nails down a chalk board. "And do what, Spike? Marry you? Julia died three weeks ago and you dare stand here and tell me not to marry a man who has waited years for this!"

"That night that Julia found me after the firefight? I wasn't going to her apartment. I was headed toward yours. I knew that you would keep my injured presence a sercret. I trusted you. However, I was to weak and I didn't make it and Julia found me. You weren't the forbidden fruit, you never were. Julia had been. But after time, yes, I grew to love her. You disappeared shortly after I had healed and I couldn't find you. I search for weeks. But Julia was there. She had filled the gap that you had left. And yes, I did love her, very much. And I do grieve for her because I did love her. But I ache for you. I always did. I waited years for you to resurface."

Mira yanked her arm out of his grip. She couldn't take her heart being yanked around like this. She had decided to marry Gren. She was staying with that decision. "Well you don't have to wait any longer. I got sick of waiting for you. I'm done. No more. I'm marrying Gren when this thing is over."

Spike leaned down to stare into her firey blue eyes. "There is no more waiting. I'm right here."

"You're late."

"Am I too late?"

Mira took a step back from him, defiance shining through her eyes. "You most certainly are. I suggest you get some sleep. You'll need your rest and strength for tomorrow when we meet Vicious."

Spike bit back the bitter taste of rejection. "Where is he?"

"Home. On Mars. Good night."

Spike watched as she dissapeared through the doorway. Silently he sat down in front of the viewport and stared out at the blinking stars. He had said he had grieved for Julia, but others had gone unmourned. An unfamiliar stinging came from the back of eyes. Pools of moisture gathered in his eyes and gently overflowed onto to his cheeks. He covered his face with his hand, covering the wet tracks. Faces of the dead haunted his mind as he continued to shed tears for them. His older sister Annie. His mentor Mao Yenrai. His loyal friends from the syndicate, the twins, Lin and Shin. And many others. The one loss that brought the most tears was that of Mira. She wasn't dead, but she was lost to him. Because, as always, he had waited too long.


	9. Session Nine

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, yada yada yada…

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, yada yada yada…

Author's Note: Yes, I do realize that Gren was portrayed as a gay man, however, what would fan fiction be without some slight tweaking, eh? 

Session Nine: I Grieve

Mira pulled the coat onto her shoulders and straightened it. She slipped the gold braided piping through the eyehole and tied it, keeping the coat closed. She straightened the silk black tie and brushed off the suit jacket, swiping at wrinkles in the pants. It had been a long time since she had donned the Red Dragon uniform. She felt as if she was stepping into a dead man's clothes. The Mira that had been in the Syndicate died when she left. She and Spike had undergone similar changes. Both had gone from ruthless, explosively violent syndicate members to almost normal. Both were still haunted by the memories from a another life though. Mira closed her eyes. She was thinking of him again. And it aggravated her. 

"Mira?" 

A gentle hand was laid on her shoulder. She turned to see Gren standing behind her, concern etched into his noble features. A smile spread across her face. She had made the right decision. How could she possible leave a man like this?

"My, don't you look dashing."

His easy smile slide into it's place. "Why thank you. You're looking very stunning as well."

She had gotten a hold of another suit and coat for Gren, Jet and Faye. Amazingly enough Spike still had his, though he had never worn it in the Syndicate. The coal black color of the suit, in combination to the three-quarter length coat seemed to add elegance to Gren's height and slight build. Mira reached up and brushed some stray bangs back from his face. 

"Vicious is going to be there."

Gren grew serious. "I know. How are you planning to go about this?"

"Talk. I will not fight him."

"What if it comes to that? What if he wants to fight?"

"I'll step down. We'll leave. I refuse to fight."

"Why?"

"I've lived my life in violence. I was at Titan when I was seventeen. After the war, I went into the Syndicate and stayed there till I was twenty-four. I've lived these past few years in quiet normality. I don't want to go back to the violence."

Gren looked down into her eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I understand that. I hate fighting as much as you do. But sometimes it's necessary. And I'll tell you now, that if Vicious threatens you or any of us, I will retaliate."

Mira leaned against him, hugging him around the waist and laying her head on his shoulder. "I hope it doesn't come to that."

Gren held her tightly. "But if it does, I won't let him hurt you. But if we deal with him now, we can live out the rest of our lives without looking over our shoulders."

She pressed her face against the rough material of the coat. "I will not fight."

___________________________________

Mira stood at the bottom of the wide stairs that lead up to the porch of the Mars mansion. Mao Yenrai's mansion. Vicious had said that it was time for the rogue dragons, Spike and her, to come home. The three of them had spent many years gathered in Mao's home where the former Syndicate master had taught them all the tricks. Memories that Mira had tucked away years ago seemed to rise up now and shake the dust off their backs. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her jacket, feeling the material brush against the gun she carried under the layers of clothing. Gren had insisted she carry it, even if she didn't intend to us it. 

She glanced to her right. Gren flanked that side, his normal kind face set into hard lines. He had stepped back into his role of a warrior once more. On her left side, Jet stood, looking massive as ever in the Syndicate uniform. Behind them were Spike and Faye. These were her bodyguards and her group of Red Dragons. Despite their clean past history, Jet, Faye and Gren had eagerly jumped at the opportunity to act as her group of Red Dragons. And she couldn't have asked for a better group. 

"Here we go." she whispered before taking the first step up the stairs. She heard the other's footsteps behind her and that gave her some confidence. Striding up to the double oak doors of the Mars mansion, she pushed the doors open and allowed the sunlight to filter through the darkness. 

Vicious stood before them in the foyer, calmly leaning on his sheathed katana. He too was flanked by his bodyguards. Mira counted five in the open, possibly more hidden in the shadows. She squared her shoulders and stepped towards him, stopping a few cautious feet from him. 

"Vicious."

"Miranda. I see Spike has healed."

Mira heard Spike shift slightly behind her. "As you have as well. Why have you called us here?"

"I'm sure you can see that the Red Dragon Syndicate is far from being dead. I called you here because the rights of leadership belong you and me."

"If I accept?"

"You live."

"What about my men?"

Vicious merely replied with a icy smile. 

"And if I refuse?"

"You die with your…" he cast an indifferent look over her group, "men."

"I see we need to straighten out a few facts."

Vicious cocked a suspicious white eyebrow. "Like what?"

"The leadership of the Red Dragons never was to belong to you. Mao had set up two other people. You were not one of them."

"Who were they then?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is you aren't one of them. I strongly suggest that you relinquish your power now, and give it to the rightful heirs."

Vicious' frown deepened and anger smoldered in his chilling blue eyes. "I do not appreciate your suggestion."

Mira met his cold gaze with one of her own. "I am not interested in your appreciation. I'm interested in your power."

His cocky smile appeared again. "Isn't everyone? I refuse to relinquish my leadership. You'll have to pry it out of my dead hands."

Vicious unsheathed his katana and lunged at Mira. Faye and Spike headed for opposite sides of the room to take cover. Jet did the same, following Faye behind a marble pillar. Gren pulled Mira out of the way and took cover behind another pillar. Gun shots went off around them, bullets bounced off the pillars. Gren could hear the crew of the Bebop fighting back. He leaned down over Mira.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. He didn't touch me."

"I told you it would come to this. This is the only way Vicious knows."

"Let's get out of here and rethink this. I don't want to fight."

"Mira, you are in the middle of a fire fight. You need to."

"I vowed that I would never fight again. I intend to keep that vow."

"I respect that vow. But you need to take up arms and fight. You can end this needless bloodshed and disband the Syndicate like you planned."

Mira looked out at behind the pillar to see that there was only one of Vicious' bodyguards left. Vicious had disappeared. "You're right Gren. I can end this."

She stood up and took a small step from behind the pillar. 

"Vicious, stop this!"

Immediately, the shots stopped. Mira stepped back out into the open, trying not to look at the dead bodies. Vicious emerged from the shadows, his sword once more in it's case. The lone bodyguard stood off to Vicious' left. Mira felt Gren come to her side and she sensed the others behind her. 

"What?" Vicious sneered. "Have you changed your mind?"

"Yes, I have, but the choice is not one that you gave me." Mira reached behind her and whipped out the gun, aiming at Vicious. Before she get the shot off, another shot rang through the air. She felt someone push her back and she fell to the floor, the gun skidding across the floor. She looked up to see Vicious and the bodyguard had disappeared. And laying on the floor where she had been was Gren. 

__________________________________

She laid her hand on the smooth wood, ignoring the reflection in the polished shine. The cold rain pelted her, soaking her clothes. She didn't notice. The pain she felt now was enough to block out everything else. The only thing she was aware of was the ache and emptiness that seemed to permanently settle in her chest. She felt hollow, as if she had no substance. She was aware that there were people around, but she paid them no mind. They were unimportant. The only one that was important was the person in the box. A person that could no longer be important, except in her memory. He had loved her. Selflessly, totally and, in the end, sacrificially. She never believed she deserved someone like him. And gazing down at the smooth, dark wooden coffin, she had been right. 

She gripped both sides of the coffin and fell to her knees, pressing her face against the cold, wet lid. She had gone for the past ten years unable to cry. Now she was thankful that the rain camouflaged her tears that mixed with the rain droplets. If anyone deserved to be wept over, it had been Grencia Eckner, her Gren. 

____________________________________

Faye stood by Jet and Ed at the gravesite. It was hard to believe that he was gone. She had been fascinated with the handsome saxophone player when she had met him a few months ago. He had seemed to be a genuinely good person. It was always the good people that went first. She looked around the small gathering of people that came out. She found she couldn't bring herself to look at Mira. The loss of Gren had struck the woman so deeply she was unable to hid it. It was too heartbreaking for Faye to even watch. She leaned towards Jet.

"Where's Spike?"

"Don't know. He didn't want to come."

"Sounds like him. Thinking only of himself."

"Not now Faye. He's hurting just as much as Mira is right now."

"Is Mira coming back with us?"

"No, she isn't."

"Where is she going?"

"I don't know."

"Is Spike-"

"Spike is still staying with us. But right now, both Spike and Mira need time to grieve." Jet put his sunglasses on, despite the cloudy day. "Just as we need time to grieve."


	10. Session Ten

Disclaimer: Don't own, no money making, etc.

Session Ten: One Singular Sensation

Three Months Later…

Mira heard the familiar click of the deadbolt as the door to her apartment opened. She switched on the lights and set her bag down by the kitchen counter. The place was simply furnished, she didn't intend to stay here all that long. She had a bed, kitchen, bathroom and her pride and joy. Mira turned her computer on and waited for it boot up. 

While the machine beeped and whirled, she allowed her mind to drift over the past few months. She had spent her time grieving and planning. Now, it was time to set those plans into action. Her longing for peacefulness had been temporarily shed. Her blind eyes to murder had been turned. She hated what she had to be, but if Vicious could be dealt with now, she wouldn't have to worry about him in the long run. And there was Gren. He didn't deserve to die the way he had. His death needed to be avenged. And Spike needed to be free as well. The poor soul had lost too many people in his life. The list was almost as long as Mira's. And now, both had lost their true love. There were no more soul mates to be found. At times, like these, she still felt the acute loss of Gren. She had a feeling she would always feel an empty spot in her heart that could never be filled. When he died, he had taken a part of her with him. A part that could never be revived again. 

The computer was up and waiting. At least she was a master of this world. She could easily predict the outcome of whatever situation she came across. Life in cyberspace was so simple if you knew how to bend the code. She was her own entity on the galactic information highway. She was untouchable and all powerful. No one knew her real name, no one knew her pain, no one knew her weaknesses. She couldn't be exploited. However, that didn't apply to everyone else. 

_________________________________

Jet poked his head around the doorway and looked around the living quarters. Spike was sprawled out on the couch, Faye was sitting in the chair, reading a magazine and Ed was on the floor on the computer. He missed seeing Mira thrown among the group. He had nothing against Gren, but Mira added some spice to this motley crew. He enjoyed their discussions in the bridge and her suggestions in the kitchen. She was a pleasure to have around. And if she ever came back, Jet was sure that if Spike didn't wisen up and marry the girl, he would. He shook his head. Ten years his junior, but the girl had the eyes of fifty year old. She appeared to be the kind of person that was forced to grow up before she was ready and only continued to mature. The ex-ISSP officer looked at the wiry figure that was lounging on the couch. Jet laughed to himself. Mira was too good for the lunk head. 

"Hey Ed, any decent bounties out?"

"Hmm…there's a 1000 woolong reward for a bank robber on Venus. Another 800 woolong reward for drug dealer on Saturn. Ooohhh…."

Jet leaned over the girl's shoulder. "What?"

"No one's caught the Scarlet Nanashi yet. The reward just doubled."

"You're joking? What would that bring it up to now?"

"That would bring it up to a wopping 20 woolongs! Who-hoo!" Ed cooed. 

Spike looked up. "Who's the Scarlet Nanashi?"

Faye put down her magazine and stretched her arms. "Some computer hacking Syndicate. No one can catch the geeks. Ed's talked to one of them online before, but they ended up crashing our systems."

Jet turned to Spike. "You want to give it shot?"

Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? Ed, try to get ahold of one again and see if we can't track them."

"Okay." 

Ed went back to clicking on her key board. Jet went back into the kitchen to finish dinner. Faye went back to her magazine and Spike went back to sleeping. Ed's sound of awe drew everyone around the computer in a split second. They all stared at the words in disbelief.

__

Hello again Radical Edward. May I call you Ed?

Sure. Am I invading your space again?

No, not at all. In fact, I was looking for you. I need your help.

Okay. I can't promise anything though.

That's all right. Just listen. I need to meet with someone and I need you to deliver the message to that person. 

Ed stared at the screen for a moment, working her fingers without pressing any keys. How could she phrase this next question without appearing obvious of her intention?

__

Do you want to get out of the Scarlet Nanashi?

The cursor blinked for an eternity. Ed held her breath, waiting for the systems to crash once more. Instead, a reply came back. One that she didn't expect.

__

You think that the Scarlet Nanashi are a Syndicate?

Aren't you?

No, not at all. I am the Scarlet Nanashi. And last I checked, there was only one of me. 

But the bounty-

So, someone put a bounty out, thinking that there was a group of us? Sorry Ed, just me. 

Faye spoke up from behind Jet. "Well, that's depressing."

__

You said that you wanted me to deliver a message. What is it and to whom?

Tell Spike to meet me at the graveyard. At the Eckener grave.

The screen went blank. The systems remained intact this time. Everyone turned to face Spike, who merely threw his hands up in the air. 

"Like I'm suppose to know who that was?"

"Well," Jet moved off towards the kitchen again, "I guess you'll find out soon enough."

____________________________________

Mira shut down her computer and stood up to stretch her muscles. Just imaging the looks on Jet, Faye and Spike's faces when she told them that the Nanashi weren't a Syndicate gave her a laugh. She felt sorry for them though. They were probably counting on that bounty. She wondered what they were going to do when they found out she was the Nanashi? Well, she couldn't worry about that now. Grabbing her purse and car keys, she headed out. She had one more thing to do before she met Spike. 

_____________________________________

The sales girl at the shopping center was far too bubbly for Mira's taste, but she merely forced a smile on her face and nodded her head as the short blond woman went through all the hair colors for her, commenting on what would look best on her hair. Finally the woman had reached the end of isle and took a breath, waiting for Mira's input. 

"Actually, I was looking for something that would take the color out of my hair."

"That's not your real color?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"But it looks so natural." The girl reached out to touch it.

Mira took a step back. She hated it when strangers stepped into her space. "Thank you. Now, do you have something that could take all this color out?"

"Actually, we just got something in last week. It's a new chemical that does remove dye from hair. It has a natural-"

"Thank you. I'll take some."

___________________________________

Mira turned on the shower and followed the directions on the bottle. After all the solution has been used and had set, she stepped into the shower. Streams of red flowed through the drain. She found it to be very symbolic of her life. She had spent the past few years trying to cover up her past sins of murder. Now, she had cleaned herself of those stains only to add more. But now it was the people that had ordered her to kill those others that she was going after. She was finally bringing them to justice. When the water ran clear, she toweled herself off and got dressed. By the time she looked at herself in the mirror again, her whole appearance had completely changed. Dressed in black jeans, a black blouse and bright red leather jacket, the Scarlet Nanashi had finally taken form. She ran her fingers through still damp hair that hung in limp, elbow length, ash gray locks. She looked so…old. A lot older than her twenty-seven years. She wondered if Spike would even recognize her. Grabbing her car keys once more, she picked up her duffle bag, and locked her door for the last time. If everything went according to her plan, she would be back on the Bebop, hunting down Vicious. But things rarely went according to plan. And she still had to tell Spike one more thing before they began their Dragon hunt. His reaction to that would determine her allowance on the Bebop. Pulling out of the parking lot of the apartment complex, she hoped Spike was in a good mood. Her fate depended on it. 


	11. Session Eleven

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bebop boys, I'm not making money on them, so just enjoy and don't sue me. 

Session Eleven: Two Angels Who Were Rescued From the Fall

Spike stepped through the rusty iron gate of the old graveyard and looked around. A woman with a child stood by a gravestone, heads bowed in reverent silence. An old man laid a quivering bouquet of flowers on another grave. Spike shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking through the cemetery. He didn't know what he expected in this Scarlet Nanashi, but these people didn't seem to fit the description. Besides, Gren's grave was over the hill. 

Spike had pretty much guessed who the Nanashi was. There was only person who would know who Radical Edward was and connect her with the Bebop crew. Not to mention, she had also called Spike by name, wanted to meet by Gren's grave and she provided Jet with the systems information for the Bebop after she had wiped them from the Bebop's computers four months ago. Mira. Yet another failure in the chapter of Spike Spiegal's life. He wondered why she wanted to meet him. Why not Jet or Faye? He chuckled to himself. She would probably try to kill him. And after her rejection of his confession of love for her, death seemed like such a small thing. But at least now she knew how he felt towards her. And with her losing Gren so recently, he wasn't about to bring up those feelings again. She would come to him one day. He only hoped that it would be one day soon. 

He could see Gren's grave up ahead and there was a person standing there. At first Spike thought he had the wrong grave. There was woman standing there, dressed in dark pants, and a bright red leather jacket with the gold Dragon of the Red Dragon Syndicate emblazoned on the back. But long, wavy tresses of pearl white hair hung over the woman's shoulder. Well, there was only one way to find out who this was. 

"Nanashi."

She turned around slowly, sweeping the dark sunglasses off with a graceful hand. The eyes were the same artic blue, but they seemed older. The face was the same angular lines, but harder and more drawn. She looked so different. 

"Spike."

"I figured out it was you. Have you always been the Nanashi?"

"Yes, I have. I wondered if you were really going to come."

Spike grew serious. "I will always come when you need me."

He saw her swallow as she placed the sunglasses back on her nose. "We need to get going. Time is running out and Vicious is not a pacient man."

"May I pay my respects first?"

Mira turned around annoyed. "Spike-"

"I liked him."

She stopped mid-rant and listened.

"He was a good man, not just to you, but to everyone. If he knew your name, he considered you a friend. He took everyone at face value, no one had a past. A past to Gren was merely something that brought you here, not something to look back on and regret. I wish more people were like him. This world would be a lot nicer. I'll miss him. But I'll miss him even more because his death hurt you. It wasn't fair for him to be taken like that. You both deserved better than what you were given."

Spike turned to go but found Mira standing in front of him. Sun glinted off something underneath her sunglasses. He realized it was tear. A flash of memory struck him. It was when Mira had learned of Julia's death just after taking him in and nursing him back to health.

_"Mira, stay in here and eat. We have three years to catch up on."_

"Not tonight Spike. I'm sure you want to be alone for a little while."

Spike was careful not let his voice get harsh, but kept it quiet and low. "And do what? Grieve for her? I don't have enough tears to cry for her."

"I do."

"Crying isn't going to bring her back, Mira. You know that."

"I'm not grieving for just her."

Something cold and wet touched his hand. Spike blinked back to the present. He had instinctively reached out to wipe the stray tear from off her cheek. 

"You haven't grieved yet for him, have you Mira?"

A sad smile touched her lips. "I don't have enough tears to cry."

"You'll find them. And if you don't, you can borrow some of mine. That night, after you left me, telling me you were going to grieve for Julia, I did cry for her. And I was right, it didn't bring her back. But it did give me closure. I realized she was gone and there was nothing I could do to bring her back. You need to do the same with Gren."

He watched her bottom lip quivers slightly as she tried to hide the fact. He took a chance and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. As soon as he did, the tears did come. Three months worth of them. Spike held her while she cried into his shoulder, grateful that he could relieve some of her pain. 

___________________________________

Jet leaned back in the chair he had set out on the deck of the Bebop and took a long drawl on his cigar. He had expected Spike to be back before now, but if it was Mira he was meeting, well, the longer he was away to better the outcome would be. When he and Mira had their conversation on the bridge, he knew deep down that Spike was the one for her. She would keep him in line, and he would always protect her from anything harmful. As idiotic and brash as Spike was, he never failed to come through when it mattered. 

"So, where is he?"

Jet suppressed a groan. "I don't know Faye, he hasn't called to tell me."

"Do you really think it was Mira? Or could it have been someone else?"

"Someone else? As in who?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone from his Syndicate. Possibly even Vicious."

Jet took a puff on his cigar. "Possibly. But you should know by now, Spike is a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"Really? Might I remind you of the time when he-"

"Okay. So he's gotten into a few scrapes in the past. But the Nanashi really is Mira. Like Spike said, who else would know to connect Radical Edward with us? Besides," Jet smiled and stood up, "here they come now."

Faye looked down to see Spike and Mira walked towards the ship. From the looks of it, neither one was talking to the other. Spike had his hands in his pockets, as always, and Mira merely walked by his side. Faye squinted. The hair color was wrong.

"Jet, I don't think that's Mira. Her hair is white."

Jet looked down. "No, that's Mira. Walks like her. I'll guess we'll find out when they get up here. But before they do Faye, is she anything like Julia?"

"She's exactly like Julia. But Mira has a way to talk, allowing you to think she's opening up to you, when in fact, she's saying nothing at all. Julia was mysterious, but Mira is a ghost. Ed said that Nanashi was Japanese for "I have no name". Let me just say, that's the perfect name for Mira."

Jet nodded his head in understanding. The only thing he did know about Mira, was that she was good person. That was enough for him. However, seeing the serious faces of Spike and Mira, he realized he was about to learn a lot more about her. 

______________________________

Mira shifted uncomfortably under the eyes of Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed and even Ein. Taking a deep breath, she began the hardest speech of her life. 

"From my research on Vicious, he's planning to make Mao Yenrai's old mansion into the new headquaters of the Red Dragons. What I can tell from correspondence between him and others from the Syndicate, he has a large following. And he still wants me to join as well, as his advisor."

Spike spoke up from the corner. "What I know of Vicious is he was never one to share power. What makes you think that he's going to give you that position?"

"I never mentioned how long I would be in that position. He knows that I am the Nanashi. How, I can't tell, but he knows. He won't kill me on the spot for two reasons. One, I'm certain of, the second, I can't be so sure will be a protection. The first is he knows about the file collection. If he can get me into the Syndicate again, he will have access to those files. Once he has those, I'm dead."

"So what's your plan?" Jet asked. 

"Let me go in. I'll give him a fake disk and while he thinks he converting it over, I'll be able to shut down his secreity and let you guys in. We take out Vicious, and the power goes to me. After that, I disband the Syndicate. And it ends, everything."

Faye leaned forward in her chair. "What is the file collection?"

"It's a library of data disks that I've collected over the years. All that it contains is information. From Earth's history, to the every catalogued species of bird, I have it on disk."

"So what information does Vicious what?" Ed asked from her position on the floor.

"Among all the information that I have, bank accounts are included. If he gets a hold of those, he will have the entire galaxy at his disposal."

Jet fixed Mira with a hard gaze. "So why did you save those bank accounts?"

"At the time I was in need of money. I had," she cast a quick glance over to Spike, "someone to take care of. I can get in touch with Vicious tonight and be on Mars by tomorrow. That is if you four give the go ahead."

Faye nodded her head immediately, quickly followed by Ed. Jet looked over at Spike, who slowly nodded his head. Jet turned back to Mira.

"Alright, get in touch with Vicious. But tell me something before you do. You said there were two reasons Vicious would keep you alive, one you were sure of and one you were not. The one you're sure of is the data disk with the bank accounts."

"Correct."

"What was the second?"

"May I tell you a story?"

Jet cocked an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"There was this boy, the son of a literary scholar. His name was Merlin, named after the magician in the Arthurian legends. He grew up as any normal, privileged boy would: the best school, the high class circles, the expensive life. He was happy with that as a child. However, when he grew up, so did his ambition. He wanted a better life and saw the only means to get such, was to have more money. And that's what he set out to do. In the process, he lost his own soul and became someone else. Someone completely dedicated to the pursuit of absolute wealth. The man named Merlin was destroyed by his own ambition, and from the flames rose a completely new person. He was named, appropriately, Vicious."

"And how do you know that is his story?"

"Because I was with him every step of the way. I was with him on Titan. And I was with him when he joined the Syndicate."

"Why?"

"I'm his twin sister."


	12. Session Twelve

Disclaimer: I don't own Bebop, no money is being made, just wasting time and loving every minute of it. 

Session Twelve: Let Me Let Go

Mira stepped out onto the deck of the Bebop. They had reached Mars and docked in the bay of the largest city on the planet. She had a few hours before she met Vicious at the Yenrai mansion. Dawn was just breaking across the red planet and the air still had a chill to it. She pulled her shirt closer to her, trying to keep the coolness away from her. 

"Mornings on Mars were always a little too cold for me."

Mira turned around, smiling slightly at her intruder. "Yeah, they were always a little too cool for me too."

Spike sauntered up to her, cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth and two cups of coffee in his hand. She took one of the mugs, grateful for the warmth in her hand. Looking up at Spike, she cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't you ever stop?"

"Stop what?"

"Smoking. Whenever I see you, you've got one of those white sticks hanging out of your mouth. Don't you ever take a break?"

Spike shrugged. "Sure I take a break. The six hours that I sleep."

Mira shook her head. "They're going to kill you one day, you know."

"Better men have tried to kill me and failed, I doubt a little 'white stick' is going to do me in."

"Suit yourself. You always did do your own thing."

Spike laughed. "You weren't much different."

"No, I guess I wasn't."

Spike grew thoughtful and Mira could see a serious and somber look pass over his face, making him look older than what he really was. He took a deep breath and blew out a stream of smoke before speaking. 

"So, what did you do for the past three months?"

"Well, I woke up every morning. Got dressed. Went to work. Came home. Ate dinner. Went to bed. And reminded myself to breathe. After some time passed, I didn't have to remind myself to get out of bed, get dressed and breathe. And life returned as normal. What did you do?"

"Mourned the loss of a friend and tried to forget about losing my true love."

"Did you forget about her?"

"No. The harder I tried, the more I thought about her. The more I thought about her, the more pain I felt."

Mira lowered her head. "I never intended to cause you more pain." 

"I don't like seeing you go by yourself to meet Vicious."

"I don't like going to see Vicious either, but this is the way it has to be done. He won't kill me because of the disk and our relation."

Spike shook his head. "Relation doesn't matter. He would kill his own mother if the need arose."

"Well, at least I have the information on my side."

"I'm going to be in the Syndicate with you. I've already made arrangements with Kier. He was a close friend to Lin and Shin. That way if Vicious turns on you, I can get you out."

"I would argue with you, but I know that won't get me anywhere. So I'll just say that you frustrate me."

Spike merely smirked and took another puff on his cigarette. 

"Promise me you won't get involved unless Vicious locks me up."

"Fine."

"I mean it Spike."

"I'll promise that if you promise me something."

Mira looked up at him suspiciously. "What?"

"Come back from this. Alive and in one piece preferably."

Mira looked back out at the rising sun over the water of the bay. "It's foolish to make a promise that you know you're going to have to break."

"You can't know that this mission is going to end with your death. No one can predict the future." Spike chuckled to himself. "I was saying the same thing before I left to face Vicious just a few months ago."

"But Spike, there's just some things that a person knows for certain. I'm not coming back this time."

"Yeah. I said the same thing."

Mira stared down at the coffee in her hand. "I wonder what we would have been like together."

"We probably would fight a lot."

"Probably."

"End up saying things we regret. Making bigger issues out of small stuff."

"Most likely."

"But I have been known to say some nice things."

"And I've been known to be very easy going and level headed." She turned to look up at him and found him already staring down at her. Even in the dim morning light she could see the difference of color between his eyes. The artificial left one had more of a red color to it, while his right was deep brown. A deep brown that had dropped all defenses and walls and showed bare-hearted emotions. What was the look Spike had called it? A wistful look in the eye when a hopeful thought passes through the mind. Gren had always had it when he looked at her. She had always had it when she looked at Spike. And now Spike had it. And he was looking at her. Spike leaned down closer to her face. 

"I'm sure we would have some light hearted times."

Mira found herself leaning up towards him. "And some quiet times as well."

His lips closed over hers and the world ceased to exist. Five years of waiting had finally brought her to this moment. And as always, cruel fate was tearing her away from him in a few hours. Away from the gentle touch of his hands on her waist. The tender kiss on her lips and the warmth of his body next to her. At last, she had her Spike. She felt his reluctance as he pulled back and she felt the chill in the wind once more on her face. He still held her close, fixing her with his mismatched stare. 

"Return to me."

She gazed up into the eyes she thought she couldn't deny anything to, and sadly shook her head. "I can't. I'm sorry."

Spike merely nodded his head and pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly. 

"At least promise me you'll try to come back to me."

She buried her face into his shirt. "I'll do my best, but that isn't a promise."

____________________________

Vicious sat behind the large desk, long fingers steepled as he thought. He knew Mira would come back to the Dragons. He also knew her reason for coming back. Despite their close relation, she was completely different from him. Killing came easily to him. Healing was her natural talent. He was always feared. She was always loved. So had been Spike. Mao Yenrai had no doubt placed those two in charge of the Dragons. Spike had talent he never used. Mira was just well loved. And he was always shoved into the background. Well, not anymore. Despite the fact that Mira was no longer a Dragon, she still viewed Vicious as a threat, and she should. Her plans for coming was so she could eraditcate him. No doubt she would use the disk with the bank accounts as her free ticket in. Vicious grinned. He already had looking into her famous library and found that she had destoryed everything. The disk she was going to give him would be useless. What she was going to do with the Syndicate was something he didn't know, but that didn't concern him. She wouldn't kill him. Her sense of family ties was too honorable to kill a family member, never the less her twin. No, she would pull the gun and pause before firing it. And that would be her mistake. Her last mistake. 

"Lord Vicious."

He shifted his eyes towards the Red Dragon member. 

"Miss Davenport to see you."

"Send her in."

"Sir."

A second later, a woman walked through the door. It wasn't Mira though. The hair was long and white, the eyes a cold blue and the face hard. On a second glance, Vicious saw that it was Mira, but not the Mira he knew. Perhaps killing her right off would be slightly harder than he anticipated.

Mira walked up to the desk and the thin man that was standing behind it. Her brother watched her with cold eyes. She was amazed at how dead those eyes were. Her emotionless mask remained in place, hiding the nerves she was feeling at the moment. It had been obvious he had watched her for a long time and very closely. He most likely all ready knew that she had destoryed the library. She had told Spike and the crew of the Bebop only so they would allow her to go in solo. And judging from the look in Vicious' eyes, he wasn't about to play along with any scheme she had in mind. Whatever she was going to do, it would have to be fast. 

"Welcome home Miranda."

"I guess I should say the same to you too, Merlin."

"Merlin is dead. My name now is Vicious."

"Good."

His eyebrows came together for a split second in slight confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"I won't so bad for killing my brother Merlin if he's all ready dead."

Mira pulled the small gun from her coat pocket and fired it. The window behind Vicious' head shattered. He still remained in the same spot, unmoving and unnaturally calm. But he hadn't moved at all. The bullet had grazed his cheek, leaving a small horizontal red line with a few drops of blood trailing down the side of his face. His dead eyes still focused on hers. 

"I believe your aim is slightly off."

Mira raised the gun again. "If I wanted to put a bullet in your head, it would be there."

Vicious grinned. "Go ahead. I know you want to see me dead. Pull the trigger."

He saw her finger begin to squeeze the trigger, but it stopped. A flash of doubt passed across her eyes. He had been right. She didn't have enough guts to pull the trigger. It would cost her. No one challenged him and walked away. Vicious whipped a gun out from under the desk and fired before Mira could even register the movement. In the Syndicate, she was known for being thorough, he was known for being fast. Shock replaced the doubt in her eyes. The gun dropped from her hand, barely making a sound on the thick carpeted floor. She looked down at the red spot on her shirt. He had gotten off a gut shot. Vicious watched as her eyes unfocused and she fell to the floor. He hit a button on the desk and his bodyguard came into the room. 

"Get her out of here before she leaves a stain on the carpet. Put her in the cell."

____________________________________

Kier pushed all emotion out of his mind as he lifted the limp woman off the floor and carried her out of the office. He had been a good friend to Shin and Lin, two members of the Red Dragons that had sacrificed themselves for the Syndicate. He had especially grown close to Shin, who firmly believed Spike was coming back to take over. Kier had always looked up to Mira though. He was only fifteen when he met her, but it had been love at first sight, so he thought. As he grew older, his teenage crush had changed into an admiration for her. Then she left the Syndicate. Shortly after, Spike left. But now they were coming back. Kier didn't know all the details, he just hoped that they would overthrow Vicious and turn the Red Dragons back to what they were. 

He looked down at the woman in his arms. Her stomach was bright red, but from he could tell, with proper medical attention, she should survive. However, Vicious had told him to take her to the cell. Kier could contact Spike as soon as he placed her in there. Once Spike came, he could deal with Vicious and Kier could provide the medical attention Mira would need. 

Kier gently laid Mira down on the stone floor of the cell. He leaned over her, acting as if he was checking her wounds while he pulled his transmitter from beneath her coat and tapped off a message to Spike. Slipping the communication device back into his coat, he rested his hand on her pale forehead. 

"Hang in there. Spike'll be here soon."


	13. Session Thirteen

Disclaimer: I don't own these guys, wish I did, not making any money, wish I was, don't have anything valuable to give you if you sued me anyway. 

Session 13: Gunning Down Romance

Spike pulled the felt hat lower over his forehead, and stood the collar of his coat up. Keeping his head down, he stepped into the waiting room outside the office Vicious had taken over as his own. He immediately reconized the dark haired Kier, who was standing by the door. Spike looked up and gave the young man a lopsided grin. 

"I believe a friend of mine has come to see Vicious. I was wondering if I might be able to join the party."

Kier stepped forward, hazel eyes worried. "Mira's in the cell downstairs. She wounded. Pretty bad."

Spike felt his old hot-blooded nature start to take over. "How bad?"

"Gut shot."

"Vicious?"

Kier nodded. 

"Go down there and get her out. Take her to the docks. There's a ship there. They'll see you and take care of her. Go."

Kier nodded his head and left. Spike glared at the double oak doors. He threw off the hat and trench coat, pulling out two Jericho pistols. He cocked both guns and kicked the doors open. 

Vicious stood in front of the desk, katana drawn, waiting for him. "I thought it was Julia's death that had awakened your anger towards me. Now I see she only created a spark. Apparently Mira is more valueable to you."

Spike ground his teeth together. "Value had nothing to do with it."

"Then what else could it be? Certainly not love. People like us don't know how to love."

"Speak for yourself Vicious."

"Did you love Julia, Spike?"

Spike's anger ebbed slightly due to confusion. "Huh?"

"You loved Mira. You always did. But you ended up with Julia. Did you love her or where you just seeing if you could steal her from me?"

"Julia was never yours. If she was, she would never have agreed to leave the Syndicate with me. You used her for what you wanted and forgot about her. Just like what you did to Mira."

"Mira was my sister. I loved her. Then she found someone else to love. That was when I began to hate her. After a few years, she became expendable, just like everyone else."

Spike felt his temper rise again, only this time, he let it go. "Last time I wanted to end this. So this time, stay dead!"

Raising both guns, he fired off a volley of shots. Vicious bolted towards him, katana ready. The Syndicate leader brought the sword up and knocked one of the guns from Spike's hand. Spike whirled, extending his leg and landing it squarely in Vicious' chest. He heard the breath escape him, and Spike brought his other leg around, aiming at the white haired head. But Vicious had recovered and leaned forward, Spike's foot passing over him. Vicious brought his sword up again, and Spike twisted out of the way, but not before feeling the blade bite into his left arm. Spike turned, and just as he brought the end of his gun to Vicious' forehead, he felt the cold steel of the blade at his throat. Vicious' voice came out like a low growl. 

"You fire and I slit your throat."

"You'll be dead before you can slit my throat."

"Want to chance it?"

_________________________________________

Kier opened the cell door to find Mira in the same position he had left her in. Running over to her, he gently picked her up and started out of the cell. Her eyes fluttered opened and looked up at him. 

"Spike?"

"No, it's Kier. Spike's dealing with Vicious right now."

He felt her start to struggle in his arms. "I have to go help him."

"No, you're in no condition to go. I'm going to get you help. Hang on."

"Hey!"  
Kier turned to look who had called his name. A fellow Syndicate member, one he didn't reconize, turned the corner. 

"Where are you going with the prisoner?"

Kier hoped his voice didn't quaver. "I was taking her to see Vicious. He asked to see her." 

The Syndicate thug looked at her and then back at Kier. "I didn't recieve such orders."

"Then there must have been some mistake. You should have recieved those orders."

Kier turned to leave as the other guard pulled out his transmitter to check on the orders. At least he could get around the corner before the guard figured out what was going on. He leaned down to whisper to Mira.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, good enough for now."

When they rounded the corner, he set her down and they took off running. Kier passed off a gun to Mira so she could defend herself. He watched her stumble the first few steps, but grow stronger as she went. She was still weak, but refusing to acknowledge it. Suddenly she spun around and fired a shot over his shoulder. Kier turned around long enough to see the guard that had stopped him fall. Mira pulled the trigger again and a second guard that had followed him dropped. Kier turned back around to see another guard coming from the other direction. Kier took aim and fired at the same time as the other guard. The last thing he saw was guard falling. 

Mira looked down at Kier's body and felt a new surge of rage. Too many had died. She couldn't stand there and fight off the entire Syndicate. She had to get back up to the office and stop Vicious before he killed Spike. If she remembered correctly, there was an elvator located in the cell area that went directly to Mao's office. Hopefully Vicious hadn't done anything to it. 

____________________________________

Spike felt the gun in hand and felt sure he could get the shot off. But he also felt the cold steel against his throat. Before now, he would have pulled the trigger without a second thought. However, he knew Vicious would slit his throat, bullet in the head or not. But this time, he had something to live for. He had people to go back to. He didn't want to give that up. He could see a sickening grin spread across his enemie's face. 

"It appears we have reached an impass. What should we do Spike?"

A gun shot went off in room. Vicious' eyes widened. Spike felt something warm and wet hit him on the side of the face. The gun in his hand hadn't gone off, but Vicious slumped to the floor. Spike reached up and brushed the side of his face and pulled his hand away. It was bright red. Looking down at Vicious he saw the bullet hole in the back of his head. Spike turned to see Mira standing in the doorway, gun in her hand. She had stepped off a hidden elevator and pulled off a perfect head shot, hitting Vicious in the back of the skull. 

"Mira..."

She walked over to him, surprisingly steady for her appearance. Her shirt had been soak in blood due to the gun shot wound from eariler. Her pale skin seemed paler, almost as white as her hair. 

"Are you hurt, Spike?"

He lifted a hand to his neck and found it bleeding, but it wasn't deep. "It's only a scratch. We need to get you help."

"Wait. Is he really dead?"

Spike looked down at the body. "I hope so."

Mira opened the chamber of her revolver and slipped two more bullets into it, making sure all eight chambers were filled. Standing over the body, Spike watched Mira aim at the prone form. He watched, horrified, as she fired off all eight bullets into the body. Her face and eyes were empty, completely devoid of all emotion. When the last bullet was fired, she stared down at the floor. 

"Now he's dead."

"Mira-"

She turned her eyes towards him. He was glad to see the life finally return to them. The gun slipped from her hand and she stummbled towards him. He caught her in his arms and lowered her the floor. She laid a bloodied hand over his as he cradled her against him. 

"We're finally free, Spike. No more running. No more looking over our shoulders. We're free."

Spike watched helplessly as her eyes closed. He fummbled around in his pocket, his throat constricting as he flipped his transmitter on. 

"Jet, get me an ambulance, fast."


	14. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Yeah! Last disclaimer I have to write! Well folks, pat yourselves on the back, you made it through the whole story! I hope you enjoyed it. And if you didn't, sorry. 

Epilogue: Children Will Listen

Seven years later...

Jet Black sat down on the only vacant park bench in the wide grassy space. He had actually forgotten this section of Mars still had such beautiful parks. He closed his eyes and listened the sounds around him. Birds were singing in the trees, children were playing around him and parents were calling their children in for dinner. Jet enjoyed these moments of peace that seemed to pop up every now and again. However, he did miss those exciting moments that Spike, Mira and Faye always produced. But it had been five years since he said his good bye to Spike and Mira. Jet thought back to that horrible night that Spike had called him over the transmitter. 

_"Jet. Get me an ambulance fast."_

Jet leaned over and dialed up the emergency number. "You hurt?"

"No, it's Mira. She's-"

Jet stared down at the transmitter. Did Spike just sob? "Spike?"

"Mira's hurt pretty bad. Gut wound."

"Ambulance is on it's way. Should be there soon."

"I'm taking down to the street. Meet me at the ER."

Jet remembered waiting in the white halls of the hospital. She had lost a lot of blood by the time she reached the hospital. Jet had never seen Spike so upset. But as soon as the doctors had stabalized her, he had gone back to normal self. Jet laughed to himself at that memory. Spike had lit a cigarette right there in the Emergency Room. After fifteen minutes of stunned silence, a brave nurse finally asked him to dispose of the cigarette. 

Two months after that, Spike and Mira disappeared for a weekend and came back married. Jet thought it was perfectly befitting of the two. A year and a half, they left. Finally ready for their own lives to start. Spike was always searching for peace. Mira was searching for the same thing. From what Jet saw when they were together, they had found what they were looking for in each other. He wondered if they were still happy. 

Jet felt a pair of little eyes on him. He opened one of his and gazed down to see who it was. A child, no more than three or four stood by Jet's knee, grinning a lopsided smile. Jet sat up a little straighter and opened both eyes. He knew that smile. 

The kid grinned under a head of unruly brown hair and the sharpest blue eyes Jet had ever seen. Come to think of it, maybe he had seen that color blue somewhere before...

The kid held up his hand, making a gun shape out of his fingers. Squinting one eye, he pointed the "barrel" at Jet. 

"Bang!"

Jet laughed out loud and the kid laughed with him. 

"Tate!" A woman called out from the top of a small hill by the playground area. 

Jet leaned down to muss up the kid's hair even more. "Tate. Is that your name?"

The kid smiled another cheeky grin and nodded his head. 

"Well you tell your mom and dad that the Black Dog said hello."

The kid nodded his head and scampered up a small hill. Jet shielded his eyes, trying to make out the figure. Even though Jet couldn't see details, he had a feeling he knew who it was. He laughed out loud, not caring if anyone else heard him or not. He stood up and watched the mother and son walked away together and he shook his head. 

"That kid is going to be one heck of a teenager." 


End file.
